Help date this Nettar

steelneck · Apr 21, 2011

I have got a Zeiss Ikon folder in absoute mint condition (stunning, like new) and i am trying to find out its age. The model is Nettar 515/16, it has a Nettar-Anastigmat 1:6,3 F=7,5cm lens in a ACG Telma shutter with shutterspeeds from 1/25 to 1/125 plus T and B. There is also a serial number, K 318 on the side of the back that do not lead me anywhere.

The model and the lens/shutter combination seem to be a bit conflicting, the lens/shutter suggest it is quite a bit older than what i have found about the model.

Andy38 · Apr 21, 2011

The letter K on the back means this folding was made in 1939.

steelneck · Apr 21, 2011

Thanks Andy, i suspected it was pre-war. Do you have a link to your info about the Zeiss serial numbers?

steelneck · Apr 21, 2011

Hmm.. done a bit more searching. I cannot find that the letter preceding the serial number corresponds to a year, if there are some system it is more complicated than that since i have found many cameras on auction-sites with the same letter but different year. I feel that i am back where i started, dating the camera to either just before the war or just after assembled from pre-war parts.

Andy38 · Apr 21, 2011

I have not links, but a french book, with many serial numbers (or letters) : "Les chiffres clés", by Patrice-Hervé Pont.
With Zeiss Ikon, the letter corresponds to a year (or, sometimes, to two or three years); this system was first used by Ica (then Ica became a part of Zeiss Ikon , in 1926).

steelneck · Apr 21, 2011

"or, sometimes, to two or three years"..

That explains my findings. Yes i have come to know that this obscure(?) system was first used by ICA that later became part of Zeiss Ikon (the net is full of a wikipedia quote about it but no one explains the system or links to info about it). So even if it can differ on a couple of years, it looks to be a pre-war camera. From all my browsing around i feel it is around 1937 to 1940. Yet another sign of pre-war is that the Nettar lens is not coated. I will come back with some pictures of the camera.

steelneck · Apr 21, 2011

Here is a picture of it.

steelneck · Apr 21, 2011

It is actually quite decent for a 70 year old stopped down to f11. A picture from my first test roll.

Andy38 · Apr 22, 2011

Wow!!!
As you said, it's like new ! It looks like never open before.
And it makes nice pictures.

I have a Nettar 515/2 (6X9) with that sort of viewfinder; it's also a pre-war (letter G : 1938).

elekm · Apr 22, 2011

I agree with the date. It's definitely prewar because of the use of the Telma shutter. It's not one of the earliest models, because of the shiny chrome pop-up viewfinder, the shutter release on the top deck and the sliding door over the frame window.

This is in excellent condition. I generally am skeptical of claims of "mint," but this one is as close to mint that I've seen. In any case, it's in excellent condition.

Peltigera · Aug 8, 2012

steelneck said:
Hmm.. done a bit more searching. I cannot find that the letter preceding the serial number corresponds to a year, if there are some system it is more complicated than that since i have found many cameras on auction-sites with the same letter but different year. I feel that i am back where i started, dating the camera to either just before the war or just after assembled from pre-war parts.

A bit of an old post to respond to, but I am going to. The letter in the nuber DOES refer to a year but the 26 letters of the alphabet were recycled so a given letter could refer to several different years 26 years apart. As most models were not produced for more than 26 years, the letter is actually quite precise.

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