[largeformat] value on 11x14 lens

[Richard Knoppow]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "LNPhoto" <LNPhoto at twmi.rr.com>
To: "f32 Large Format Photography Mail List" 
<largeformat at f32.net>
Sent: Thursday, June 16, 2005 3:26 PM
Subject: Re: [largeformat] value on 11x14 lens


>A bit more on the lens in question.
>
> This is a Gundlach Manhattan "Rapid Convertable"  It 
> doesn't say  Anastigmat, it doesn't say Rapid Rectiliniear 
> either, though I think it  is.  The glass seems to be a 
> pair of asymentrical cemented doublets,  nothing like the 
> massive Turner Reich lenses.
>
  I found my box of old catalogues. My Gundlach catalogue 
dates from March 1, 1926. The company had just recently been 
sold and there is a rubber stamped label on the front cover 
saying "Seebold Invisible Camera Corporation  Successors 
to.." Kingslake covers the history of the various companies 
started and abandoned by Ernst Gundlach in his book on 
Rochester manufacturers. Kingslake also wrote a short 
biography of Gundlach published in a photographic historical 
journal. I will find the citation if anyone wants it. 
Gundlach was a very strange man who seemed not to be able to 
get along with anyone.
   To get back to the point the lens above does not appear 
in this catalogue. Its construction might be deciphered by 
looking at the reflections in the lenses of a small, bright, 
light. Glass air surfaces are bright, even when coated and 
very bright when not coated. Cemented surfaces have quite 
weak reflections.
   The catalogue lists the following lenses:
 1, The Turner-Reich Convertible. As mentioned before this 
is a five element per cell version of the Zeiss Protar but 
IMO inferior to it.

 2, Series V Anastigmat, f/9  a process lens, construction 
is not given but its probably a dialyte.

 3, Radar. A variation of the f/4.5 Tessar with three 
cemented elements in the rear. Again, the additional element 
was probably to get around the Zeiss patent.

 4, Gundlach Anastigmat Lens, f/6.3  A dialyte, probably 
similar to the Goerz Celor.

 5, Hyperion Diffusion Portrait Lens f/4. Construction not 
shown but described as two cemented thin elements in each 
section of unequal focal lengths, the lens is described as 
convertible.

 6, Achromatic Meniscus Portrait Lens, f/6 A slightly 
advanced version of the lens found in box cameras.

 7, Series A Gundlach Portrait Lens, f/5  A Pezval type 
portrait lens.

 8, Series B Gundlach Portrait Lens, f/4  A faster version 
of the Petzval, substantially more expensive than the Series 
A above.

 9, Pancratic Telephoto Lens. Described as a combination of 
a positive front and negative rear element in a mounting 
which allows adjusting the degree of magnification. About 
f/12

 10, Radar Telephoto Lens, f/5.6. Construction is described 
as a front and rear element each consisting of two cemented 
elements.

 11. Extreme Wide Angle Anastigmat, f/16. Probably similar 
to the wide angle Protar. Coverage given as 90 degrees.

 12, The Ultrastigmat Lens, f/1.9. this is the lens designed 
by C.C. Minor of Chicago. It is a four element air spaced 
lens related to the dialyte. Kodak made a great many lenses 
of this type, particularly the f/1.9 Kodak Anastigmat for 
16mm motion picture cameras and introduced for the original 
Kodacolor lenticular color process (no relation to the later 
Kodachrome chromogenic film of the early 1940s). The 
Ultrastigmat was evidently a popular lens for professional 
motion pictures on 35mm film during the silent picture era.

 13, Wide Angle Symmetrical Lens f/16. Coverage given as 85 
degrees. It is described as a wide angle Rapid-Rectilinear 
lens.

 14, Emil Wide Angle Lens in Cells, f/16. Construction not 
given. This is a set of cells in a box for mounting in an 
existing shutter in place of the normal lens. The shutter 
had to be sent in for fitting or it could be bought with a 
Wollensak Betax shutter.

 15, Gundlach Special Anastigmat, f/6.3 for Hand Cameras. 
Construction not given.

 16, Perigraphic Convertible Lens, f/5.6. This is a faster 
and more expensive triple convertible version of the Rapid 
Rectigraphic listed below.

 17, Rapid Rectigraphic Convertible Lenses, f/8. A triple 
convertible. As mentioned before the Rapid Rectigraphic is 
essentially a Rapid Rectilinear with the negative element 
split into two so there are three cemented elements in each 
half. The probable reason for this was to get around the 
Steinheil-Dallmeyer patents.

 18, Gundlach Radiant Projection Lens. Made for theatrical 
motion picture projectors.

  This catalogue also covers Korona cameras, Gundlach 
binoculars, and, on the last page, the Korona Crystal Radio 
Receiver.

  What a strange world this is.

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