FAKE!!!!!!!!

These binoculars must have belonged to Major Burnham because there, written clearly in ink, on the strap, was the name Maj. Burnham (right).

Wrong!

These binoculars are supposed to be 100 years old at least. Would ink last that long? It might; on furniture it does; on rough leather it would. But it was clear that this signature was on the shiny, protected side of the leather. Ink would never grip there, let alone last 100 years. Not Major Burnham; Major disappointment!

By examining the surface closely it began to be clear there was no surface abrasion on the ink. If it had been placed there by Maj. Burnham to identify the glasses so they wouldn't be stolen, there would have been tiny scuffs and chips off the ink, visible with a loupe. There were none. This ink had been applied relatively recently. Growing disappointment.

Using a loupe we examined every centimeter of the strap.

Then....lo and behold, there lightly stamped into the leather, were the words "MAJOR BURNHAM." We looked for sharp edges to the stamp - new stampings leave sharp edges and bits of broken leather along the ridges. There were none. In fact, the stamping had the same "age burn" as the surrounding leather.

Stamping identification on leather was a constant preoccupation of blacksmiths attached to the military in the Boer War. Saddles, straps, spurs, belts, holsters, halters, all were madly stamped because theft among soldiers was a huge and constant problem.

And kit stolen from officers was a special target for Tommy Atkins. In fact Hutton, the British General commanding the Canadians, had his very horse stolen by those irreverent Canuck volunteers.

So the stamping, like the glasses, is Boer War era. The ink signature had been added by someone in recent times because, unless you use a loupe, and go looking for it deliberately, you would never see the words MAJOR BURNHAM.

Provenance: The binoculars are in good shape. The barrels are of brass, but still completely wrapped in black leather. Often the leather on badly treated glasses is completely worn off showing the brass barrels.

The glasses have circumstantial provenance as well because they were being sold as part of an old Boer War collection of items which contained a number of things claiming association with Baden-Powell and his staff and Mafeking.

Since BP and Burnham were close friends from Rhodesia days, when they fought the Matabele in 1896-97, it is highly probable that the "Major Burnham" on the strap, is indeed none other than the famous American Scout who so mightily impressed BP and the other British officers with his scouting prowess.

Burnham's field glasses are larger than those one usually finds from the Boer War. Because officers had so many other things to carry, Boer War binoculars were often picked to be small and compact to cut down on weight. But many officers picked more powerful glasses, and presumably scouts, especially, would be among these. These are eight inches when collapsed, but a giant 12" when opened up fully with the large sunshades pulled out.

In BP's sketch above, don't look for binoculars hanging around Burnham's neck, like birders do these days, or like Michael Caine in the movies. No cavalryman ever did that, or he would have lost all his teeth in short order. Glasses were kept in belt pouches. Large glasses like Burnham's were kept in saddle wallets like those clearly drawn by BP on Burnham's horse.

American Eyes: Presumably Burnham carried these powerful glasses while doing his most famous scouting of his entire life, leading the British army of 30,000 men under Lord Roberts on their fabled March to Bloemfontein and Pretoria.

Riding fearlessly ahead into hostile territory, the celebrated American Super Scout, peered through these very eyepieces, to spy out possible Boer attacks and sudden ambushes, as the largest British Army in 100 years marched into war. (Like most binoculars used in the war, these were French, labelled, CA GAGGINI, Opticien, 1 RUE DE L'ECHELLE, Paris.

Frederick Burnham can legitimately be called the Father of the International Scouting Movement. Baden-Powell really learned much of his scouting lore from Fred Burnham. B-P was not shy in telling people that he "sucked him dry" of all he could possibly tell him, he was so impressed by this American scout. Burnham was really a major fountain head of B-P's knowledge, and the enthusiastic American's scouting spirit, infused Baden-Powell with seeing the educational possibilities of scouting and fieldcraft on many different levels.

It is then, quite proper to call Baden-Powell the Founder of the International Scouting Movement, setting up an organization which spread the scouting knowledge that he had gleaned largely from Fred Burnham, around the world. The low-key Burnham and Baden-Powell remained close friends for the rest of their, long, lives. Burnham wrote a book, "Scouting on Two Continents," that became an international classic when published in 1926.

Right, on the left, he wears the DSO, the second highest decoration in the British Army (see Medals Page) pinned on him by Edward VII for his work as Lord Roberts' Chief Scout on his "victorious" March to Pretoria.