Yes! Done. Mystery solvedAmy, as your camera came out of a boot, let's just call it Boots...
Brilliant info, how wonderful to look at that camera and think its probably 100+ already. Even the little ruby spirit level is working. The back doesn't fit but never mind about that for nowOscar Simon advertised his lenses in British Journal Photographic Almanacs, the adress is Optical Works, Dresden 21 (established 1876). A company L Trapp & Co 8-9 Chiswell Street London EC are wholesalers established 1865 and specialising in importing and exporting photographic goods. They were distributing Oscar Simon portrait lenses in 1910 and may well have place the advert.
Ian
I got that pun indeed.I knew where you were going with it, but the Profundar deserved a profound joke as well.
I got that pun indeed.
By the way, who "gave names to all those animals"? Profundar... it never would have come to my mind. Well, the times of classic languages are gone.
We ones had a thread on lens names, I guess we should revive that.
It appears that Oscar Simon moved from Dresden around 1926, we don't know where he worked before founding his company in 1876. He'd have to have gained experience somewhere in lens design and manufacture perhaps at Zeiss in nearby Jena. By 1926 he'd have been in his 70's or even 80's and the early to mid 1920's were were bad years for the German camera/photographic industry with companies struggling, some folding and others merging. 1926/7 saw the major merger of a number of companies to form Zeiss Ikon.
Around this period and into the early 1930's there were also some quite short lived new companies set up from the ashes of others and only around a year or two. The Edelweiss Deluxe is one that comes to mind quite a high end 9x12 camera, the shutter dated one on this Forum to 1925/6. Unfortunately unlike Deckel - Compur and Compound shutters - which have serial number the Alfred Gauthier shutters Ibso, Ibsor, Pronto, Prontor and Vario have no serial numbers. Also lenses can be dayed by their serial numbers but there's no data for smaller companies.
Does the leather(ette) covering of the back match the camera body ? Often backs are missing people used the cameras with Rollex or Rada roll film backs and they get misplaced. So it's possible it's not the original back.
Ian
Already in the old days a lot of camera's were made for different German mail order companies. Some camera lines were given names like Herlango, Porst, Feca, Perga, Welta, Balda.
Welta and Balda certainly made their own cameras.
My Rodenstock 9x12 camera was actually made for them by Welta, just very slight cosmetic differences.
That’s interesting - I didn’t think it was rare (but as I know so little about them I suppose I had no reason to think that!). I would like to use it - finding backs might be tricky. I picked up a GB Kershaw 630 from the same pile of stuff and it has made some lovely images - i definitely enjoy giving the old cameras a new lease of life.With/without a name and a back it seems to be a nice find, though. Firstly the lens (brand) is quite rare. After fity years of looking I only own a couple: An 'Anastigmat' 7,2 , 148mm (obviously a copy of an early Zeiss Anastigmat 7.2) and an acromatic portrait lens 'Kronarette', 4,5/250mm. Secondly: the front stability of these cameras is always of paramount importance, many expensive cameras often had horrible stability of the lens bearing front (Ica, Zeiss and early Linhof comes to mind). But from the look of it your camera has a very well constructed locking levers for fastening to the rail. Only minus could be the 'single extension' with lever-focusing - that is if you plan to use it as all us user-collectors?
Thank you for the links! So interesting that 3D printing is cropping up a lot within the vintage camera community.Again, I'll post this 3D printed back. Good chance you have a "Normalplatzen" back like the Voigtlander and Kodak Recomar 33 model 9x12 cameras.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3449588
Be sure to look at the photos of builds posted there to see how it works.
This back is both a holder for a regular, double sided, 4x5 sheet film holder AND has an opening for a ground glass. You have to buy, install a ground glass and focus with that ground glass, but then you can use more common 4x5 holders and the larger variety of 4x5 film.
It would do until you could locate actual 9x12 film holders or plate holders with film inserts.
I had mine printed very cheaply online and it fits perfectly.
Here are some more 9x12 related printing projects: https://www.thingiverse.com/search?q=9x12+film&type=things&sort=relevant
Here's the service I used: https://www.thingiverse.com/apps/3d-print-with-treatstock
What is a "Normalplatzen" back?Again, I'll post this 3D printed back. Good chance you have a "Normalplatzen" back like the Voigtlander and Kodak Recomar 33 model 9x12 cameras.
What is a "Normalplatzen" back?
Could it be you mean a "Normalfalz" back? Which means "standard rabbet".
Amy, I believe your camera is a Glunz model 3? plate camera. Glunz was most likely one of the founding partners of Glunz & Bülter which eventually became Orionwerke in the early 20's.
I recognized the similarity of your camera to one handed down to me from my grandfather. It is teak and brass Orionwerke and in need of some restoration work. I'd appreciate any guidance to a promising repair shop.
Bruce
grandfather.brucebell.com
can somebody please translate, "car boot sale" from British English to US English?
is it roughly what we call "garage sale" ?
Were they orthochromatic, even panchromatic?
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