[LargeFormat] Kodak serial numbers

[Richard Knoppow]

On Mon, 14 Oct 2002 00:10:42 -0500 (CDT) Michael Briggs
<MichaelBriggs@Earthlink.net> wrote:

> 
> On 14-Oct-2002 Les Newcomer wrote:
> 
> > I'm the new owner of two odd ball tele type
> Graphic lenses.  Both are 
> > Kodak Anastigmats but made in '45, so I'm
> assuming these are not coated.
> 
> Kodak was coating military lenses from the
> begining of WWII, so it is possible
> for them to be coated, but if they are not
> marked with the circle-L, they
> probably aren't coated.  If they are coated,
> the reflections of bright lights
> should have some hue.  Also, you can compare
> the brightness of the reflection
> of a bright light from  the surface of the lens
> with the reflection from other
> optical surfaces, uncoated and coated.  Using a
> comparison, you should be able
> to tell which is
> which.
> 
>  
> > The questions lie in the realm of "what do
> the serial numbers really mean?
> > "  The serial numbers for both lenses are ER
> 000.   Did Kodak reset the 
> > serial numbers every year? I've seen some
> pretty low numbers in the 50s 
> > which suggest they did.  Other times I see 4
> digit lenses and think well 
> > maybe they didn't.
> 
> AFAIK, they reset the numbers every year.  4
> digits means that they made more
> than 1000 of that type of lens in one year --
> this seems reasonable -- mass
> production marketed to a very large country.
> 
> > 
> > Does anybody know if they started with 000 or
> if they used that as a "pre 
> > production" serial and began with 001?
> 
> I don't know the answer.  Various ebay sellers
> have stated that 000 is used for
> pre-production lenses.  However, there seem to
> be a surprising number of them
> out there.   Maybe they made a fair number of
> pre-production lenses for various
> testing purposes.
> 
> > Does anybody have any data as to when Kodak
> introduced new lenses?
> 
> Lenses designs were either renamed or
> changed/introduced a few years before
> WWII and again after the war.
> 
> --Michael
> 
   Kodak began coating some lenses in about 1940 or 1941 but with soft
chemical coatings on the internal surfaces only. The lenses for the ill-stared
Ektra camera and the first version of the Medalist camera (the second version
had hard coated lenses). The early version of the Commercial Ektar, called the
Eastman Ektar, were also soft coated on inside surfaces. The coating could not
be applied to unprotected surfaces since it could be removed by ordinary
cleaning. 
  From 1940 Kodak used serial numbers with a two letter prefix indicating the
year of manufacture. The key word is CAMEROSITY for the numbers 1,2,3, etc. ER
would be 1945.
  I am not sure when Kodak began hard coating lenses. Commercial lenses seem
to have had the circle-L symbol for "Luminized" beginning about 1946. Military
and special purpose lenses may have been hard coated before this. The
manufacturing records were given to RIT. When I inquired a couple of years ago
they had not yet been catalogued. These records would probably tell when
coating of various sorts was initiated. 
  I don't know if the numerals were for individual lens types or for the
entire output. At least you can determine the approximate date which you can
not do for Bausch & Lomb. There must be some B&L serial number information
somewhere, I wish I could find it. 
 




Richard Knoppow
dickburk@ix.netcom.com
Los Angeles, CA, USA