For Sale *RARE* Parvin Telephoto Lens 1893

Learn about it here. Likely the rarest lens you'll ever see listed here. Obscure.


Make sure you look up the Patent and check out the drawings etc. Very interesting.


Richards is number 203, and mine is number 230. Assuming they may have started their numbers at 200 that would make Richards number 4 and mine number 31. One can only wonder how many other survivors are out there.


Is it a usable lens?? Oh, I suppose anything is usable :~')) It's about 24" focus with 19" or so backfocus to the glass, and an effective f22 1/2 max aperture! Ouch. Sunny day use. Fair weather lens.


Still, fun to have in the collection. I want a mere $400 for it.

The claim for this lens was that the image is 6 times the equal RR lens at the same point. Parvin won the Engineering Excellence Award from the Franklin Institute in 1895 for this design. Some of them were also purchased by the Smithsonian for use in their observatories, so I'm thinking Parvins claim was probably accurate. I use an object on the railroad line near my house for my normal 'infinity focus' for lenses. Until I popped my Parvin on there, I never knew what it actually was, and now I can see it as clear as day with a lot of detail.

For something different, these are pretty cool.