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Antique and Classic Cameras Blog
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July 16, 2011
A rather rare 19th century wood camera is
currently at auction on ebay. The "Tom Thumb
Camera," is a highly sought after detective
type camera first introduced in the summer
of 1888, and utilizing 2.5 x 2.5 inch dry
plates.
I have seen serial numbers in the 100's to
the 700's, which helps get a sense of the
camera's production. It was advertised for
at least 3 years. One of the more beautiful
looking cameras ever produced (if you ask
me), the camera is highly sought after by
collectors.
Please note I have no relation to
seller. Seller was kind of enough to
allow me to use his ebay images of the
camera.
UPDATE: Camera sold for $ 4,870.00
USD
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Tom Thumb Camera ~ Image courtesy of
Ebay User decobill
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Ad from an 1892 Scovill Catalogue
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Click on patent image to get access
to the full patent
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Tom Thumb Camera ~ Image courtesy of
Ebay User decobill
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July 11, 2011
I don't plan on
spending much time discussing modern cameras,
but the Fuji X100 is considered to be the
closest digital has come to a classic fixed
lens rangefinder experience of years gone
by. The Online Photographer Blog has a
great review of the Fuji X100 by Ken Tanaka. Short, but excellent, balanced
review.
The camera is out of stock
nearly everywhere at its listed $ 1,199.
Ebay is your current choice. Premiums
running $ 200-350 !
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July 9, 2011
The
most popular page on my an entire website
is the Rolleiflex TLR page. And, in case you were wondering, Leica M Lenses
takes 2nd place, Pentax 67 Lenses
3rd, and Leica M Cameras
4th. This is among the 94 pages that
currently make up this
site. Its pretty clear much of
my site's traffic is from Leica and Rollei
fans.
So, why do I think my Rolleiflex page is
the most popular page on my site when there
are plenty of similar sites across the
internet? Given the incredible amount
of variations and models of Rolleiflex
TLR's, I think readers appreciate the
simplified reference, sorted by serial
number, as well as the personal analysis of
current market values for these
models.
Having
said all that, I am always looking for more
high quality Rolleiflex TLR links and I have
found a great one,
Club Rollei User. Although not a
new club, it is a new website with a lot of
Rollei information including some free
articles from its members-only Rollei
magazine.
Click here to see.
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Rolleiflex 3.5F Type 4 with 6
element lens
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July 6, 2011
The Rochester Optical
Company was a major player in the amateur
camera market in the late 1880's and the
1890's. Over the next month or
two, I will be posting periodic entries
regarding the Rochester Optical Company (
"ROC" ), but I though I would start off
with two pieces today. The first piece,
is a "trade card" or what we now call a
"business card," from Rochester Optical.
Given the address listed on the card itself, I
have narrowed down the year of issuance to be
1892 or 1893. While I have owned plenty
of "billheads" (aka "invoices") from Rochester
Optical over the years, as well as other cool
advertising pieces, this is the first
time I have come across a business card.
I can imagine "trade" or "business" cards
were printed by the boatload each year which
should make them fairly common, however, I
think their small size, somewhat
fragile paper construction and the lack of
purpose in saving these cards long
term, are all
possible reasons for my perception
of the scarcity of these
cards. If anyone knows more
or has a key to this mystery, please
let me know....Anyway, this particular
example was found in an unopened envelope
leaving it in near perfect condition, some 110
years later.
The piece below the
trade card is a copy of a two page article
that Scientific America published in 1895
covering the Rochester Optical
Company. Great information and gives the
reader insight as to the internal workings of
a camera maker.
More Rochester
Optical Company posts to come in the future,
stay tuned.
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July 3, 2011
As I've stated in
other areas of my site, my primary camera
and lens collecting focuses on pieces that
meet all of the following:
1.
Made prior to 1900
2. Made of wood
3.
View Camera (no folding plate cameras/cycle
types)
4. Made in America
5. 4x5
or smaller in image size
I
believe one should focus one's collecting
pursuits with the goal of becoming an expert
in your area of interest. That's what I
enjoy and I think most long term collectors
feel. I am also an advocate for keeping
one's collecting pursuits narrow, if that
suits your personality and spending style.
In keeping my collecting focus narrow, I may
only acquire one, two or three major pieces
to my collection per year. The "hunt" is
difficult and competition among fellow
collectors is high. So, it usually takes
some good effort and a healthy wallet on my
part when that special piece shows up on
eBay.
All that said, I thought I would post a
list of items that I am especially
seeking. Take a look. Email me.
Thanks.
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July 1, 2011
Keh.com has a rarely
seen Leica collectible for sale. A 40mm
F/2.8 Elmarit-C Lens.
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"Leica 40 F2.8 Elmarit-C (M mount)- Produced
in 1973 with a very compact design for use
with the Leica CL. Comes in a bayonet mount
only, rangefinder manual focus. The production
numbers on this lens were at approximately 400
and were never officially sold to the general
public. Has a rarity classification of R9 (on
a scale of 1-10, R9= "Almost Unique" with R10
being "The Impossible"). BGN grade, $1,950. Find it here."
Source:
http://www.kehblog.com/
Another example of this lens (in box) went
unsold on ebay at $ 2,812. See
here.
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June 30, 2011
For those with
strong interests in classic
rangefinder cameras eventually, money
willing, will want to try out the Canon
50mm F/0.95 lens. Its almost a right of
passage. The Noctilux is out of reach
for most everyone, but the Canon remains
(somewhat) more reasonable. I have owned
a few copies in my time, including
the two samples shown
below. The best thing you can do to
get the most out of this hunk of glass is to
have it aligned on your camera by someone who
knows what they are doing. That means
don't cheap out on getting the lens properly
adjusted and aligned... Shooting anywhere from
F/0.95 to F/1.2 and you get razor thin
DOF so adjustment and proper alignment are key
to have images that aren't mush !
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Canon's Super Fast 50mm F/0.95 Lens
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The Canon 50mm F/0.95 lens arrived on the
scene in 1961, and was the fastest traditional
camera lens yet available. It also replaced
the f/1.2 Canon as the fastest lens in the
Canon family. While many on the internet claim
it has the same optical formula as the 50mm
f/1.2, it is actually slightly different. The
rear most element on the f/0.95 lens is
thicker than in the f/1.2 lens, and the glass
types are different in elements # 2 and # 3
(supported by optical layouts from a Canon
publication). Peter Kitchingman has also
confirmed that elements 4,5,6 and 7 differ in
curvatures between the two lenses.
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June 28, 2011
Leica has numerous
rarities from its 90+ years of
manufacturing and one of the earlier ones is
the "Rigid" Summar Lens. While the
common, collapsible Leica Summar is a
plentiful 50mm F/2.0 lens that Leica used as
its standard lens from 1933 to 1939, the
earliest versions were mounted in a "rigid"
barrel. One historian explains this was
Leica's attempt to improve lens performance
using a rigid barrel to remove any possible
performance robbing "play" that collapsible
lenses can have in their barrel. All of
the Rigid lenses were made in 1933.
Leica
historian, James Lager, writes in his Volume
II on Leica Lenses that the Rigid Summar
was code named "Sumar" and "factory records
suggest" that less than two thousand
Rigid Summars were "completed.'' He also
notes that Willy Hahne, another Leica
historian, in "10 Jahre Leica Historica,''
states that Leica advertised
in Leica Photography (1934) offering to
convert rigid Summars into collapsible
Summars for $17.50. He goes on to
state that "hundreds" of lenses were
converted and "explains in part the
scarcity of the rigid Summar.''
Rigid
Summars are found with a serial number of
167,xxx or 186,xxx* and most are finished
in nickel while some have an even rare chrome
finish. Depending on condition and
current market demand, these lenses typically
sell in the $ 1,200-2,000 range on Ebay.
Leica author Laney, rates the
rarity of the Rigid Summar in Nickel at R7 and
the chrome version at R8 ( R10 being the
rarest possible). In
comparison, the collapsible Summar is an
R1 (very common).
* Please note that Leica "expert" Erwin
Puts states in his own serial number
research and listsings that Rigid
Summars were also produced in the serial
number range of 190,051 to 191,000 but I
have never seen one in this range.
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Rigid Summar Nickel
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Rigid Summar Nickel
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Image Courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com
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Chrome Version Rigid Summar. Image
Courtesy of PeterLoy.com
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June 24, 2011
Thomas Sutton of Kensington, London
(1819-1875), was an important figure in 19th
century photography. A few of his many
photographic achievements include:
1. 1856. Founder and author of the
magazine, Photographic Notes. Runs
for over 10 years before consolidating with
another magazine.
2. 1858. Publishes the first English
Dictionary of Photography
Sutton was a well respected figure in
photography from the 1850's until his death
in 1875 and his colleagues and business
partners included the likes of Thomas Ross
and John Dallmeyer.
Sutton wrote the following article,
"Sketch of the History of Photographic
Lenses" in 1866. This is mere 27 years
after the birth of photography.
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June 19, 2011
It's not often I add
to my collection given it's narrow focus,
however, a 4x5 Greenpoint Optical Company
"Eureka" Camera has found it's way into my
display cabinet.
The camera shown,
is more commonly known as E.& H.T.
Anthony's "Eureka" camera sold as part of it's
"Eureka School Outfit." However, many examples
of this camera are found stamped as being
sold/made by the Greenpoint Optical Company
("GOC") with both camera and lens
displayng GOC markings.
Anthony had
maintained and owned a camera making plant
located in Greenpoint, NY, essentially
northern Brooklyn. About 1880, "Greenpoint
Optical Company" was formed by E.& H.T.
Anthony employees, yet E.&H.T. Anthony
maintained some level of ownership and control
in the company until 1891 when GOC was sold
off to the Blair Camera Company. It could very
well be that early examples of the Eureka
(1889-1891) are marked by GOC while later,
post 1891 Eureka models, have no markings on
the body and Anthony on the lens, after GOC's
ownership change. If not this, some other
business or marketing reason would have
dictated the reason some bodies/lenses are
marked GOC while others have an unmarked body
with E.& H.T. Anthony marked lens.
The
"Eureka" was only produced in 4x5 size with
it's body made of mahogany and non-folding bed
made of cherry wood. The "Eureka" was
available from about 1889 to 1901. The
original lens supplied with the camera was
E.& H.T. Anthony's Single Achromatic Lens
which is stamped on the lens. On the GOC
versions, "Greenpoint Optical Co." replaces
the Anthony name on the lens stamping but the
lens retains the Single Achromatic Lens
wording. This simple landscape lens was the
standard lens found on many of Anthony's dry
plate, amateur view cameras, starting c. 1889
and all through the 1890's. It is frequently
referred to as Anthony's "Cone" lens in
collecting circles. Anthony's catalogue refers
to the lens as its "Single Combination" lens
and it was sold in various sizes for many
years.
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Greenpoint Optical Company "Eureka"
Camera
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1891 Anthony Catalogue Advertisement
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This camera is an excellent example of the
type of simple, inexpensive, amateur view
cameras that were on the market in the 1890's
to meet the increased interest in amateur
photography using "simple" dry plate glass
negatives.
The Eureka cameras are
scarce in today's marketplace, especially in
original and complete condition. Since many of
these simple dry plate amateur cameras were
constructed with lesser materials and
craftsmanship, they are frequently found in
poor condition. Yet, other times they are
found snug inside their wooden cases and
appear as new, some 125 years later, often
including some or all of the components
originally contained in the outfit. Prices
generally range $ 400-550 in good
condition.
This particular camera
has great provenance having been owned by
Eaton Lothrop and Leon Jacobson before him.
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Greenpoint Optical Co. "Eureka"
Camera
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Further research on this
particular camera by collector, Larry Pierce,
revealed this model camera was also
distributed by Perry Mason & Company of
Boston as a premium for it's salesforce and
was marketed as the No. 1 "Companion
Camera."
Click here to see a
rare copy of the Companion Camera's manual.
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Image Courtesy
http://piercevaubel.com/cam/anthony/eureka.htm
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