Author Archives: Robert

have you seen Al Who?

Posted on July 3, 2019 by Robert

Toronto. Leitz was determined to see the tiny Leica camera succeed as a “do anything bigger cameras can do” camera. For copy work, a focussing stage was offered. The stage swapped the Leica with a ground glass viewer for focussing. … Continue reading →

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New York in 1914 with the prototype Leica camera

Posted on July 2, 2019 by Robert

Toronto. On the eve of the Great War, the son and namesake of Ernst Leitz, Ernst Leitz II, arrived  in the Big Apple with the novel tiny ur-Leica created by Oskar Barnack. Leitz took a number of street scenes with … Continue reading →

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you’ve come a long way!

Posted on July 1, 2019 by Robert

Toronto. Most of the title was the motto of Benson and Hedges’ new (1960s) brand of cigarettes “Virginia Slims“. By the 1960s cigarettes were at their height of fashion and popularity but clouds were on the horizon. A key demographic … Continue reading →

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a great smoke

Posted on June 30, 2019 by Robert

Toronto. Many of us are unaware that the U.S. civil war prompted Britain to establish our country in 1867. Ulysses  S Grant led the North in the fierce battle over slavery. This CdV is stored in the archive of the … Continue reading →

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home movies over 60 years ago

Posted on June 29, 2019 by Robert

Toronto. Back in January of this year I did a post on DeJur and their 1954 ad in LIFE Two years later they are still banging away at home movies via an ad in LIFE.  As mentioned in my January … Continue reading →

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papering things over

Posted on June 28, 2019 by Robert

Toronto. The Toronto Public Library Archive is another source we have for photographic history. Eastman Kodak Solio paper was a Printing Out Paper or P.O.P.  This paper was primarily used to proof studio shots. When my eldest was born, a … Continue reading →

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fresh eggs

Posted on June 27, 2019 by Robert

Toronto. A few decades ago at Bell I had a boss who suggested I run with my suggestion. “After all”, he said, “it’s your fresh egg”. Have you ever noticed that be it cars, cameras, microscopes, sewing machines, radios, televisions, or … Continue reading →

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keep on truckin’

Posted on June 26, 2019 by Robert

Toronto. Items from the website Fans in a Flashbulb have appeared here before. The site is a blog and like our site, uses WordPress to format the site and add posts. In the about menu item, the site defines itself … Continue reading →

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16×20 and all that stuff

Posted on June 25, 2019 by Robert

Toronto. When was the last time you made a big print? Never is the most likely answer when everything today is digital – unless you are an old coot like me. Around 1985, I decided to decorate my office with … Continue reading →

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it ain’t over yet!

Posted on June 24, 2019 by Robert

Toronto. About 40 years ago I wondered why the old process lingered on long after a new process was available. Now I know. Serious folk invested in the older process so they changed slowly to the new. And the older … Continue reading →

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