How old is my old grey camera?

[boyooso]

How old is my old grey camera?

I used to have an old grey Burke & James.. I now have a kind of pretty old camera...

Anyway, When were those old grey Burke & James 8x10's made?

Sorry for such a dull quesion.

Corey

 

[Wayne]

I think a lot of the gray Anscos were made in the 40's and 50's. I would guess the gray B&J's were made in a similar time frame, but I dont know that.



Wayne

 

[bob01721]

I've often wondered the same thing about mine. I have a (previously) grey B&J Grover 4x5 which I restored. (I say "previously" grey because I removed all the paint, gave it a cherry stain, and then varnished it.)

The lens is a "Zeiss Jena," which I'm told dates it before the close of WWII.

 

[Dave Wooten]

Zeiss (Jena) = Zeiss East....they also made lenses after the war

The gray B and J can be quite nice looking refinished....usually they were maple wood...

 

[bob01721]

"...Zeiss (Jena) = Zeiss East....they also made lenses after the war..."

Thanks for the info, David. I was told they dropped the "Jena" during or (more likely) after the war. Something to do with importing into the U.S. goods from a communist country? Dunno.

Not sure what kind of wood it is. It looked a bit dark to be maple, but I wasn't sure. (I'm usually okay with identifying the more popular woods by their grain, but this one eluded me.) Anyway, the cherry stain gives it a "dark honey" color.

 

[Ole]

Zeiss Jena can be before the war too - it was used on lenses for a while after the relocation to Jena around 1900, I think. And after WWII it means East Germany; the western "branch" was in Oberkochen. Zeiss (West) made a few LF lenses too, like the 135mm Planar. It's all confusing, anyway...

 

[bob01721]

"...Zeiss Jena can be before the war too... It's all confusing, anyway..."

Ole, I thought it was only before the war. Anyway, you're right—it is confusing. But it seems we've gotten away from Corey's (and my) original question—how old are these bad boys? Is there a way to date the cameras?

 

[Ole]

Ole, I thought it was only before the war.

Oh no, I had new, coated Carl Zeiss Jena lenses in the 1970's. Around the time my father drove a Wartburg (and a Trabant before that).

As to the age of the gray cameras, I have no idea.

 

[bob01721]

"...I had new, coated Carl Zeiss Jena lenses in the 1970's..."

Oh, well. That blows that theory. Thanks.

 

[boyooso]

I have a friend that has an old Ansco, that used to be grey, and it has been dated with its serial # to 1903 or something like that...

I guess I'll still wonder about the age of my previously grey camera.

Corey

 

[Wayne]

well than, that brings up the question of how to date the Anscos with serial number. I would like to date mine, though I'm pretty sure from the photo tag that came with it that its late 50's era. I dont even know where the serial number is on mine, offhand.


Wayne

 

[bob01721]

"... well than, that brings up the question of how to date the Anscos with serial number. I would like to date mine, though I'm pretty sure from the photo tag that came with it that its late 50's era. I dont even know where the serial number is on mine..."

Same with mine. But I did notice something that may help date these cameras—markings such as "pat. pending," or "pat. applied." These cameras would have been manufactured before those that have an actual patent number.

I noticed my B&J Grover has "pat. applied" marked on the nameplate. If I weren't so lazy, I could probably research the patent date to determine that mine was manufactured before then. Not as accurate as dating by serial number—assuming the manufacturers kept records and the records are still available—but it can at least give a hint.

 

[boyooso]

well than, that brings up the question of how to date the Anscos with serial number. I would like to date mine, though I'm pretty sure from the photo tag that came with it that its late 50's era. I dont even know where the serial number is on mine, offhand.


Wayne

Hey Wayne,

I'll ask my friend where he got the info and where ther serial # is.

Corey