National Optical Co., Leicester, UK.(NOCO)
This firm was a daughter factory for TTH of Leicester during the WW2 when there was a need to split production capacity as a precaution against destruction.
Trinol f3.5 105mm This was a triplet (TRIplet National Optical Ltd) carrying TTH patent details
which was sold to Stewartry of Glasgow to mount for cameras such as M39x26 and Exakta. It may well have
been originally a wartime lens design, possible for a 6x6cm dial recording camera, and is of good but not
outstanding performance. Early versions at Nos 034,94x, 035,04x, 35,05x, 035,32x, 035,62x are not coated,
later ones have a hard coating at Nos 035,49x and 035,78x- note that there is overlap, possible due to parts
being in hand when coating started. [It was definitely aimed at Leica sales as the Reid was only demonstrated
in 1947, and no bodies sold for some time by when Trinol sales were a thing of the past.] Lenses for Exakta
tend to be late in production, which seems to have stopped rather suddenly. Lensheads carry Pat. No. Brit.
566,698 and Canadian 435,629/1946. Some lensheads were later sold separately about 1956, and No036,50x
was noted on a Novoflex bellows for Wrayflex. One problem is that these serial numbers do not seem to fit
with either the prewar uncoated or the postwar coated cine lenses- ie a separate series was used. (see the f2
below and the f3.5/50mm cine.)
TTH-Taylor, Taylor and Hobson, Ltd., Leicester, England.
