Voigtlander ad in LIFE magazine March 12, 1956
Toronto. 1956 was a land mark year for many. In the case of the oldest photography company in the world, It was its 200th anniversary – born years before photography itself!
One of its remarkable offerings was the Vito B 35mm camera featuring a Voigtlander lens. This advertisement in the March 12, 1956 issue of LIFE magazine celebrates both the anniversary of Voigtlander and its model VITO B camera, a 35mm camera featuring many of the popular bells and whistles of the day – except interchangeable lenses and rangefinder focus.
The resulting cheap price was intended to attract the less sophisticated amateur using a more primitive folder or box camera. Or introduce photography to the new budding amateur with some money in his (her) pocket.
The camera was marked as made in Western Germany since the post-war country was split with half to the West and half to the East (Russian). Since Berlin was in the Eastern block, the city too was divided with the infamous Berlin Wall to keep the East Germans and Soviets out of Western Berlin.
