A Barr & Stroud field rangefinder.
The company was founded in 1888 by two inventors, Archibald Barr (subsequently Professor of Engineering at the University of Glasgow) and William Stroud (Professor of Physics at the Yorkshire College) in 1888. The professors devised patents for optical rangefinders for army and naval use, and set up a small workshop in Byres Road and later in Ashton Lane before moving to a large custom-built factory in Anniesland in 1904.
The Barr & Stroud field rangefinder was a standard item of equipment in most of Europe's armies before the First World War, and the firm's naval rangefinders were adopted by the Royal Navy and remained in service on board all British warships until the advent of radar during the Second World War.
Reference: 930.99.131
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Museums
Keywords:
Barr & Stroud, inventors, munitions, optical instruments, optical rangefinders, professors, scientific instruments