Help in identifying a Zeiss Protar

I recently acquired at a flea market a 17 cm Protar f9. The marking around the lens element reads "Protar 1:9 F-17cm DRP 193439 Carl Zeiss Zena Nr 163936". The lens which is in excellent shape appears to be slightly coated. The vendor didn't know much about the lens but thought it was a wide field.

Could any of the lens buffs on the forum help me determine the vintage of the lens (since it is in a Copal Shutter it may have been remounted), its circle of coverage and any other information you may have (I have not had much luck in internet searches)

Thanks

Islander said:

I recently acquired at a flea market a 17 cm Protar f9. The marking around the lens element reads "Protar 1:9 F-17cm DRP 193439 Carl Zeiss Zena Nr 163936". The lens which is in excellent shape appears to be slightly coated. The vendor didn't know much about the lens but thought it was a wide field.

Could any of the lens buffs on the forum help me determine the vintage of the lens (since it is in a Copal Shutter it may have been remounted), its circle of coverage and any other information you may have (I have not had much luck in internet searches)

Thanks

Click to expand...

The 17cm f9 Protar is listed at least as far back as 1921. It covers 6 1/2 x 4 3/4 covering a 13 1/2 circle at small stops. If originally in a compound codename 'foglifero'.
The newer equivalent is the Zeiss-Goerz Dagor f9.
The appearance of being coated is due to natural oxidation of the glass and is actually desirable.

Mark

That could be a Serie IIIa - and the "Serie" designation was normally not engraved on the Zeiss Jena -made ones, except Serie VII and Serie IV; and Jena Serie IV is not the same as B&L Serie IV...

Anyway it's supposed to cover about 90° (from Schmidt) or 97° (from the Vade Mecum) at small apertures. It was patented in 1891 as "Anastigmat Serie III f:9", the name changed to "Protar" in 1900, and seems to have been in production until at least 1926.

The Protar Serie IIIa is an unsymmetric 2+2 construction. It's supposed to be very good even by today's standards, with only slight field curvature. The last two Protars to go out of production at Zeiss Jena seem to have been this one and the even wider f:18 (often called "Serie V") Protar.

Thanks Mark and Ole -- whatever vintage it is, it seems a pretty good lens. I have just developed some 4x5s of a brick wall. No evident distortion with lens centered, minimal but visible when close to edge of image circle.

The lens elements are crystal clear, the shutter seems to work OK. Not too bad for $20.00.

Tom