Want to Buy 4x6 Speed-E-Zel?

[mfohl]

Might anybody have a 4x6 inch speed-e-zel they're not using? I don't think it was a standard size at the time, but at one point, A. J. Ganz would make custom sizes on request.

 

[Bill Burk]

Sorry, I only have 8x10 standard, 5x7, 4x5 an a bunch of smaller ones

 

[mfohl]

Yeah, I got all those, too. Sadly, another niche product by the wayside. Thanks.

 

[L Gebhardt]

That seems like something that could be easily modeled and 3D printed using the existing ones as a model.

 

[pentaxuser]

Just out of interest, who made a 6x4 and when did they stop? Paterson was the usual supplier of such easels in the U.K. but I could find nothing that indicated it ever made that size. At a loose end one night I searched everywhere to see if I could find a 6x4 but no luck. I may be wrong in my recall but I think this kind of inquiry was made before on Photrio/APUG several years ago and even then the consensus was that no such speed-e-zel existed which now sounds to be a wrong conclusion.

Thanks

pentaxuser

 

[mfohl]

In the 1950s and 1960s, and maybe earlier, the A. J. Ganz company made Speed-E-Zels. They are lightweight metal easels, made for common sizes. They sit about a half an inch off the baseboard, are yellow, and most have a quarter inch border on all four sides. Paper slides into either long side. I have a 16x20 inch, 11x14, 8x10, 5x7, 4x5, 3 1/2 x 5 7/16 postcard, and 2 1/2 x 3 1/2. I believe there is a 20x24 version, and maybe larger. I recently (~ 5 yrs) bought a used 8x10 full frame model. This accepts 8x10 paper, but it has a wide border on the bottom to accept a full 35 mm format. I remember seeing, long time ago, that Ganz would make custom size easels on request. Maybe in the 70s, the company was purchased, maybe by Saunders, and the custom size option went away.

I'm not familiar with Paterson easels.

I like the idea of the 3D printing. Now to find somebody with the capability. Unless somebody already has a 4x6.

 

[Steve Goldstein]

Yes, there was also a 20x24 version. I have one, not for sale.

I just took delivery of a good-condition 8x10 Speed Ez-El in the box, and discovered something to look out for. The yellow paint finish was applied after the easel was welded together, so the metal lips that retain the paper are bare metal that's not stainless steel. The insides of all the retaining channels had a small bit of surface rust, some of which came off on the first piece of paper (a scrap print) that I inserted. Cleaning it out using folded-up pieces of paper towel was quite tedious, and there's probably still a bit of rust in there.