Pinkham Smith Lenses

[Rkid67]

First off, I am not a photographer, someone's suggestion led me here. I have an old pair of Pinkham Smith Bird Glass binoculars (photos attached). These belonged to my great grandfather (1875-1950s) and I'm not sure how old they are. I found a group of binocular enthusiasts and asked them about these glasses and a few of them suggested I ask around 'camera lens' forums. This is the first forum that my keywords brought me too. I hope I'm not going against any rules here but I would love any info I can get.
Thanks,
Mark

 

[raydm6]

Welcome!

@Jason Schneider may be able to help or point you in the right direction. There is a reference to Pinkham & Smith Visioscope (with ad) towards the bottom of the opening post.

Pinkham & Smith: America’s most coveted, costly, and ingenious portrait lenses

Pinkham & Smith: America’s most coveted, costly, and ingenious portrait lenses Pinkham & Smith: America’s most coveted, costly, and ingenious portrait lenses A Boston optician balked at copying the Brits, so he used the 1901 version of "aspheric elements" to create an enduring legend! By Jason...

rangefinderforum.com

I searched for old Pinkham & Smith catalogs but couldn't come up with anything.

Someone on the Large Format Photography forums may be able to help also. Here is a lens made with the front element of the P&E bino!

From a $30 vintage Pinkham & Smith lens

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51295119113_d4c74a53fe.jpg I've wanted a Pinkham and Smith lens for years, but even on those rare occasions when one came up, it was way out of my price range. Then I found an old set of Pinkham & Smith binoculars for $30. The front element focuses at...

www.largeformatphotography.info

Good luck!