Optical Instruments: Microscopes, Binoculars, Sextans, Theodolits, Hand Scopes

'I believe the creator of this thread/topic purposely excluded cameras, as there is an existing topic for these.'

Exact bookbndrbob: "The human eyes, his own scrutiny and the lens instrument - only!"

Microscopes, Binoculars, Theodolits, Sextans, Hand scopes, Periscopes, Magnifying glasses...

The purpose of a photographic cam is to capture the information on a sensor or in a film. The eyes must be the main 'sensor'.

On May 2, 2000 the USA issued a sheet of 15 different 33c stamps of the theme "Celebrate the Century - 1990's". One of the stamps (Sc #3191b) from this sheet depicts a soldier with binoculars.

Printing on the reverse of the stamp states, "Operation Desert Storm was launched on January 17, 1991. Multinational forces led by the U.S. liberated Kuwait within six weeks."

India
Centenary of the Discovery of Leprosy Bacillus
July 21, 1973
The stamp depicts Dr. Gerhard Armauer Hansen (1841-1912) with a view of the rod-shaped bacteria under an optical microscope.

India
Survey Of India
June 22, 2017
Set of two, one stamp depicts an antique land surveying instrument.

North Macedonia
Robert Koch
October 20, 2010
The stamp shows a portrait of Robert Koch (1843-1910) and a microscope invented by Robert Hooke (1635-1703).

Here is the USA's February 3, 1998 32c stamp (Sc #3183c) honoring agricultural scientist and inventor George Washington Carver (1861-1943). Carver, a peanut plant and a microscope are depicted.

Printing on the back of the stamp states, "Botanist George Washington Carver improved the economy of the South by demonstrating the commercial possibilities of peanuts and sweet potatoes. His 'Movable School' educated impoverished farmers."

Cuba
60th Anniversary of the Forest Rangers
April 10, 2019
The stamp depicts a forest ranger with binoculars.

1957

Famous inventors - 4v

Octave Roch Simon Terrillon (1844-1895) was a French physician and surgeon, known as a pioneer of aseptic surgery.(wiki) The stamp shows at right instruments of surgery, a sterilization device and a microscope.

France

1956

Famous scientists - 4v

Jean-Henri Casimir Fabre (1823–1915) was a French naturalist, entomologist, and author known for the lively style of his popular books on the lives of insects.

The stamp shows Fabre using a magnifying glass to inspect an insect

Isle of Man

1990

Battle of Britain - 3x2

This stamp depicts a station of aircrafts war observation in England in WWII where we see a pantograph and binoculars using by militars.

The Post Plotting Instrument (Pantograph), was the standard optical sighting system used by the UK's Royal Observer Corps (ROC) to determine the location of aircraft. It was used during the period from the mid-1930s into the early 1950s, and was one of the main sources of daytime tracking information during World War II.

Here is the 30c value (Sc #457) from Zimbabwe's November 17, 1982 set of two stamps commemorating the centenary of Dr. Robert Koch's discovery of the tubercle bacillus.

France

1982

Robert Koch - 1v

100 years of the discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by dr Koch

Canada
Canadian Rangers
March 3, 2003
The design shows a ranger with binoculars.

Netherlands
EUROPA - Post and Telecommunications
May 2, 1979
Set of two, one stamp depicts philately with Droste effect.

Switzerland
Swiss Union of Philately Clubs
September 3, 2015
The stamp shows an 1845 Basel Dove and a magnifying glass..