Something interesting on an Ikonta 520/16

M. Axel Wikstrom · Dec 2, 2017

I found something engraved on the viewfinder of my Ikonta 520/16, purchased on eBay, from South Carolina. According to the lens serial number it was made around 1937, but engraving has me thinking that it was sold somewhere in the Orient. I can't tell if it's Japanese or Chinese writing, and would love to see a translation!

Thanks.

Anders E · Dec 3, 2017

I asked some friends. This is 德國製 (déguó zhi4) - which means "Made in Germany" in traditional chinese.

M. Axel Wikstrom · Dec 3, 2017

Anders E said:
I asked some friends. This is 德國製 (déguó zhi4) - which means "Made in Germany" in traditional chinese.

Anders, Thank you so much.

It was a time when China was at war with Japan. Makes one wonder about who originally bought the camera, and what that person saw and photographed. There are no other markings on the camera other than a hand-written meter to foot conversion table taped to the inside of the case, so an American likely owned it at some point, maybe from new. Could have been an American GI stationed in China.

AgX · Dec 3, 2017

Thank you for bringing up this subject. This is the first time I see something as this.
Is the lettering embossed or engraved?
It is so far at the edge that embossing seems unlikely.

M. Axel Wikstrom · Dec 3, 2017

AgX said:
Thank you for bringing up this subject. This is the first time I see something as this.
Is the lettering embossed or engraved?
It is so far at the edge that embossing seems unlikely.

It's engraved. Very small, but has depth to it.

AgX · Dec 3, 2017

Embossing has depth to it too. What I wanted to know was wether it was done with a premade tool (embossingt) or by hand (writing with a tool).
But I admit that would be hard to discern.

macfred · Dec 3, 2017

It looks like made with love ...

M. Axel Wikstrom · Dec 3, 2017

AgX said:
Embossing has depth to it too. What I wanted to know was wether it was done with a premade tool (embossingt) or by hand (writing with a tool).
But I admit that would be hard to discern.

If that's the case, then it was probably embossed. I can't imagine someone being able to write that small. The symbols are about 2mm in height.

guangong · Dec 3, 2017

Small? What about serial numbers on screw mount Elmars?

AgX · Dec 4, 2017

Such gravures as with the Elmar were made by using pantagraphs and larger forms being reduced.
We are speaking about actually handwriting though.

E. von Hoegh · Dec 4, 2017

AgX said:
Such gravures as with the Elmar were made by using pantagraphs and larger forms being reduced.
We are speaking about actually handwriting though.

With a very fine nib, I can write (cursive) legibly 1mm in height. With a fine scribe on metal, a bit smaller. But that isn't engraving.

guangong · Dec 4, 2017

Are there other engravings on or inside the camera? Sometimes dealer representatives would engrave their own names or the name of the destination country, such as China, Japan or Manchukuo.

M. Axel Wikstrom · Dec 4, 2017

guangong said:
Are there other engravings on or inside the camera? Sometimes dealer representatives would engrave their own names or the name of the destination country, such as China, Japan or Manchukuo.

I don't see any more outside, and didn't notice any while loading film the other day. I'll check inside again once this roll is used. Far as I can remember, there's nothing but the green and red Zeiss Ikon film sticker and standard film size stampings on the inside metal.

xya · Dec 23, 2017

germany and china cooperated very closely until 1937, the germans tried to help them build a modern industry. even after the war between china and japan broke out, the germans kept their interests in china until 1941. so the camera might well have been produced for the chinese market and have been sold there. as the u.s. made military operations in parts of china until 1949 it might have been brought from there to the u.s. it's just one more guess...

Down Under · Dec 24, 2017

Interesting. In the 1980s I had the same model Ikonta with the exact markings, which I bought in Malaysia.

I no longer own this camera, but I remember that lettering very well.I thought it unusual that it would have been engraved on the finder.

My thoughts are the camera was produced in Germany for the Chinese amateur photo market in Asia. Mine may (or may not) have been sold to its original owner in Malaya or Singapore, but that's where it was when I came across it in a camera shop in, as I recall, Melaka,and bought it.

I used it for several years and it produced very sharp negatives. It had (again going on memory) the Novar 75mm f/4.5 in a Compur-Rapid shutter.

I now have a later model (circa 1950) 520/16 with the same lens in a Synchro-Compur shutter. This one also produces superb negatives.

FYI...

Something interesting on an Ikonta 520/16

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