about a year ago I went to a carboot sale outside weston super mare thats in somerset england where I live

I got there as the people were setting up and there was a small pair of binoculars on one of the tables black about opera glasses size
they looked kinda boring

on one eyepiece they had the name belfast star on the other s.d.neill ltd white the eyepieces at some time had been put on the wrong way round

when you put them in the right order they read


s.d.neill ltd belfast

white star


Ive tried doing some research on the net about who s.d.neill were I think they were likely a optical company that sold binoculars to the white star line but cant find anything to prove it

Ive read that white star provided binoculars for its ships until 1895 but after that it was left to the masters discretion these binoculars could be from that period

does anyone really know what size and magnification binoculars were used on white star line ships
has anyone heard of the name s.d.neill ltd maybe in belfast

on a side note I met a titanic survivor when I was a child in weston super mare he used to give talks about it I remember one of my auntys introducing me and saying this man was on the titanic when he visited the house he and his brother I think kept a leather goods shop in the town

any ideas would be helpful best wishes jon

I took some photos of the said binoculars the lettering in the pictures is miles less clear than on the actual binoculars can try to take better photos

it says white star belfast not white star line but I cant think of another white star in belfast that would want binoculars made lets say if there was a white star pub belfast

it could be that sd neill ltd were making a brand of binoculars and just called them white star but with the belfast it seems more of a link to the shipping company

the writing in the eyepiece seems to me like something you would do if you were selling a batch of binoculars and if the white star line provided binoculars for its ships until 1895 could they have bought this type of thing



http://mysite.freeserve.com/2mad/neill1.jpg


http://mysite.freeserve.com/2mad/neill2.jpg


http://mysite.freeserve.com/2mad/neill3.jpg


http://mysite.freeserve.com/2mad/neill5.jpg

http://mysite.freeserve.com/2mad/neill6.jpg


http://mysite.freeserve.com/2mad/neill7.jpg

can make the pictures appear in the post but they may be to large and new around here so you can copy to your browser
best wishes jon

I think Ive found out who s.d neill ltd were I seem to have been looking in the wrong place
Ive been looking for optical dealers they are in fact jewellers they were a top jewellers in belfast from 1808

they operate under the name sharman d neill ltd and they are still in business
as well as selling jewellry they used to sell telescopes and make station clocks ,adjust ships compasses sell barometers ect ect

they seem to have cut the name down from sharman d neill to s.d neill to fit the eyepiece makes the lettering look better I suppose, makes me think that its more possible that they could have lost the line in white star

so if anyone comes across anything to do with a sharman d neill or binocular related would be interested

Their website is http://www.jewellerylondon.com/page.cfm/action=Exhib/ExhibID=00282 . I've e-mailed them with the inquiry and will let you know. It's possible these may have been either Officer's binocs or presentation pieces for a ship launch.

thanks very much, very good of you.
I found some kinda web site but it seemed to need a special password to get into and you had to be a customer
couldnt find a address for them in yellow pages under jewellers

It's an intriguing find - I've known there were binocs out there, just never saw pictures of them before.