a c1950 Exa camera made in Dresden
Toronto. My friend Les Jones, sent me an email the other day about some items for last Sunday’s fair. In part he referred to a camera called EXA from c1950. It was embossed ‘USSR Occupied’. I happen to have a couple of Exakta cameras from that era (1950s) and while the embossing has disappeared now, I remember seeing the ‘USSR’ stamp in the bottom leather of my VX IIa.
I pick up the older Exakta Varex at Mitchell’s in Montreal when my VX IIa nearly lost a critical brass stop (brass dust and an erratic shutter told the tale). At the time the cameras were rare 35mm SLRs. The mirror mechanism made even ‘normal’ focal length lenses challenging and wide angle lenses nearly impossible. The few wide angle lenses at the time used a retro-focus design with strong geometric (barrel and pin cushion) distortion.
When I bought my VX IIa, the ads of that time encouraged us to buy an Exa as a second less expensive body since it would accommodate all Exakta lenses and most Exakta accessories.
Les writes in part, “An early (1950) EXA. I’m familiar with cameras marked “Made in Occupied Japan” but this was stamped on the leather “USSR Occupied” just above the etched in leather Made in Germany mark. Confused for a minute I thought it referred to a German occupation of the USSR. Not so.
“The Ihagee factory was in Dresden which became Soviet territory when Germany was divided up post WW2. In the mid 50’s the US was going through its notorious anti-Communism crusade so to discourage purchase of the Exakta & its little brother Exa, the US Government allowed the cameras to be imported only if they were stamped ‘USSR Occupied’.”
