Anybody have any idea what this lens is ?
 

It is a Huge lens 7" in Dia. and 7" tall. Marked Sony 1:2 f=300 mm.

Do you know the origin of it or any history.

To me it looks like a scanning lens from a photo typesetter. A modulated laser beam is scanned by mirror onto photographic film. The film was used as a negative to make a printing plate. Most of these units have been replaced with ComputertoPlate equipment that scans the printing plate directly. New England USA was an area which manufactured this type of equipment. This piece of optics would been very expensive when new.

I used to work on this type of equipment 20 years ago.

No idea
 

purchased at an Estate sale and the person there said it was used to magnify a compass on a ship. So I think we both know that they didn't know were it was from either.

This looks like a sony enlarger lens for printing black and white photos in a darkroom or a large format camera lens they made in the past.

How about emailing Sony and asking them?

Maybe try give Sony a call to find out what exactly is this lens and what it is used for? I tried to search on google but no information available for this lens, but I did manage to find Sony Customer Care phone number in the US: 1-877-244-9959.

No idea really but I think I will go with an industrial application such as suggested by Rob.

One thing for sure this is not for standard large format film photography, or a standard large format enlarging lens as there is no aperture control.
With its fixed aperture it is more like a supersize projection lens.

Here is a link to a Nikon monster which at first sight is a puzzler. but makes a bit more sense when you read the application.
http://homepage2.nifty.com/akiyanroo.../faxortho.html

Don

f2 at 300mm is extremely fast...Just fast enough to perhaps qualify it as an X-Ray, Oscillocope or some other industrial use lens like the Kowa 77mm f1.1? The Kowa is also very fast and fixed focus and fixed aperture too.