Posted 3 years ago
Tosan
(18 items)
This is a vintage stitched leather holder with 2 blue tinted lenses. Marked "Junker."
I haven't had any luck researching it. Possibly photography related?
Holder measures 5 3/4" x 2 1/2" with 1 1/2" diameter lenses
Thanks in advance.
Hi, Tosan. :-)
Cool.
At a guess, they're lenses for shooting glasses. I've found scattered references to a Swiss brand called Junker, and one recommendation for a vendor:
*snip*
Re: Shooting glasses recommendation?
Post by jmdavis » Tue Jun 30, 2015 2:29 pm
In Texas, you should think about contacting Neal Stepp at ISS, he may be able to direct you toward an Optimetrist that is shooter knowledgeable.
If you were shooting rifle with relatively mild correction, I would recommend his Junker frames. The work really well for me in rifle.
*snip*
http://targettalk.org/viewtopic.php?t=49584
Here's the vendor, but be advised that however good their products and shooting expertise might be, their website is crapstastic:
*snip*
Since 1975, Neal Stepp, Owner
2319 E. Loop 820 N., Fort Worth, Texas 76118-7103 · Telephone/Fax: 817-595-2090 · e-mail <i_s_s@sbcglobal.net>
*snip*
http://www.iss-internationalshootersservice.com/shootingglasses.html
@ keramikos
Thanks for help and references.
The logo for the Swiss company and this one are different. (Although the logo could have changed over the years)
This Junker logo looks a guy shoveling (into a furnace/boiler?) Any correlation to dark goggles that be might used when a fireman/stoker is constantly staring into the fire?
And because the lenses are in the holder I'm wondering if they were a sample...
I just found an article entitled "Poole, the First World War and its Legacy" from the Poole Museum with this:
"The stokers would wear blue-tinted glasses to protect their eyes from the intense glare whilst they were checking the ‘firebed’."
I may have solved my mystery :)
Tosan, It does make more sense to be something protective, and indeed something that was designed to slide into a holder on some kind of overall protective head gear, a bit like for welders.
Is the blue glass two circular pieces, or one contiguous rectangle?
From an excerpt of a Google Books copy of "Common People: In Pursuit of My Ancestors" by Alison Light, University of Chicago Press, Sep 17, 2015 - History - 352 pages
*snip*
Like Vulcan in the underworld, surely the first of the Smiths, the stoker fed the ship's fires down in the cramped engine spaces, stripped to the waist in an inferno of heat, protecting his eyes from the blinding glare of the furnaces as best he could with blue-tinted glasses. It was hard manual labour, four hours' shovelling coal at a stretch, though it also took skill to spread the fire-bed evenly and manage the oil-sprayers. Stokers earned respect through their sheer toughness. Despite the claim that they were illiterate giants, more brawn than brain, my grandfather, only five foot two and with a chest measurement of thirty-five inches (according to his record), was far from a hulking, barrel-chested specimen. Stoking was a dirty job and a dangerous one.
*snip*
@ keramikos
The end with the hole is open, but is rounded making it not possible to remove the rectangular piece of glass. I've wondered if the hole was meant for a chain.
Just got the "Common People" excerpt confirming the blue glasses.
I'll consider it "mystery solved."
Thanks for all your insights!
Tosan, You're welcome.
Yes, it's possible that the hole in the leather was to permit it to be strung on a chain or lanyard.
However, I'm still curious as to exactly how it was used.
Somehow, I just can't quite imagine a stoker tending a fire-bed with one hand while holding that leather lens holder in front of his eyes with the other.
However, if you're happy, we'll let it go. :-)
Agreed. I'd like to know its purpose. Here's a thought. It was a salesman sample on a chain with other examples.
Tosan, That sounds like a good theory. :-)