These binoculars were in my family long before I was born, and, after my parents were gone, I "inherited" them. According to my mother, they were taken from the body of a fallen German soldier by her brother during WWI. I'm not sure if this was the uncle who was a casualty of the Battle of Beaumont Hamel, or the one who survived the war. I seem to remember it was ther former, but I don't know how they got back, unless he did get home on leave at some time. There are absolutely no manufacturer's markings on the binoculars or the case, lending credence to the story that they were GI equipment to the soldiers.