Very old Bausch & Lomb lens

My father left me this is very old lens. On the rim of the lens it says Rectilinear Bausch & Lomb. On the front of the shutter assembly it says Patented B.I.T. Jany. 5 1897.

I have already went to the Bausch & Lomb Web site and read their page about the history of the Rectilinear lens and the “Between-the-lenses” iris diaphragm and shutter

In 1887, Edward Bausch patented the “between-the-lenses” iris diaphragm and shutter. Although iris-style diaphragms – in which a set of overlapping leaves were used to create a circular opening although this was not new, Edward’s invention allowed the photographer to adjust the size of the aperture and to open and close it according to the desired
exposure times.

So my question is there any way to accurately date when this lens was manufactured?

Lou

B&L came out with their Volute shutter around 1903, so your lens probably dates from between 1898 and 1903.