slipping into history

Posted on July 5, 2021 by Robert

remember the photographic slide-rules promoted in this ad?

Toronto. Post war, nomograms were great marketing tools. Arel, Inc. of St. Louis took it a step further creating an actual slide-rule, not with the traditional A, B, C, D, etc. scales but with calculation scales of interest to serious photographers.

I suspect only a smattering of keen amateurs even thought about the material offered by the ‘slide-rule’. Did you ever use (or even see) one? Most films came with a paper outlining exposure and processing information. For the curious, Morgan & Morgan’s Photo-Lab Index and the series of Focal Press books did the rest.

In time, cameras, lens, and film sensitivity improved to the point that flash bulbs and the needed calculations were unnecessary (simple charts abounded any way). Electronic flash came along simplifying exposure (professionals still chose to adjust speed and exposure manually, over-riding any automation). Hand held exposure meters gave exposure data. Later built-in meters eliminated any need at all for the average snap-shooter to make exposure adjustments.

Late last century on, the digital era took over and with the cameras’ “auto everything”, most people neither knew nor cared about the now quaint concepts that the ‘slide-rule’ demonstrated.

Thanks once again to my good friend, George Dunbar, for sharing this snippet of history (from the December, 1946 issue of Popular Photography) with us! Note: I repeated the link here for the viewer’s convenience.

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box it up

Posted on July 4, 2021 by Robert

Ad for Micro-16 ‘precision’ box camera

Toronto. You may have never before heard of a camera called the Micro-16. This little gem, advertised on page 199 in the December 1946 issue of Popular Photography, was only around for five years – 1946 – 1950. It is basically a tarted-up box camera with a fixed focus f/8 lens that can be stopped down to f/12 and f/16.  It has a single speed shutter and focuses from three feet to infinity. The custom made cassettes roll 16 mm wide film from cassette to cassette. I did a post back on Dec 28, 2017 about this camera showing the same ad as here but in LIFE magazine a month later (January, 1947).

The little camera is called ‘precision’ because of its construction. It originated down in LA when engineer William R Whittaker scraped together about five grand post war to make aircraft engine parts (the linked source says Whittaker got the funding in 1947, but McKeown’s says the Micro-16 was sold from late 1946, which agrees with this Popular Photography issue). Whittaker became obsessed with buying up other companies, some 140 in all. NB.The company is smaller today, but still around.

This ad is just one of a recent quartet offered by my good friend George Dunbar as he reviews the magazines in mid last century, mining them for ads and articles of historical interest.

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caution, curves ahead.

Posted on July 3, 2021 by Robert

Keep an eye out on this one

Toronto. Traditional lens elements (before aspheric surfaces became economical) were all slices of a sphere making curvature of field common. Some added elements resolved this aberration to give a flat field at the film/sensor plane.

Some cameras use a curved film plane instead (like the inexpensive Baby Brownie by Kodak and the much pricier Minox sub-miniature cameras, where both cameras and enlarger curve the film) to simplify lens design.

The human eye uses a convex sensor – the retina – to maintain resolution (sort of) across the inner eye. There are lots of articles on the internet about the human eye such as Owlcation where we borrowed the cross section.

Fellow member Russ Forfar offers an article from Science Daily on June 28th of this year called, “Using the ancient art of Kirigami to make an eyeball-like camera” that reports experiments down in Houston that might replace flat sensors in some cases. Food for thought regarding the future smart phone cameras. Note: Kirigami got you flummoxed too? Read more about kirigami on this website.

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thanks, Helen

Posted on July 2, 2021 by Robert

Agnes and child taken in studio by W Marshall (Artist) of Guelph on Oct 26 1869

Toronto. The CDV is roughly a large size business card with a photo mounted on thick card stock. Studios produced them in the 1850s/1860s by the dozens. People sent them to friend and relatives but few identified the person and the date. Helen Galt of Guelph, Ontario was different, She dated the CDVs and often added the name of the sitter. This example was taken about 2 years after Canada West became Ontario.

Helen may have emigrated from Glasgow as some of my CDVs signed by Ms Galt were taken in a Glasgow studio. Once the market for CDVs began to be saturated, photographers moved on to larger size cards and photos like Cabinet Cards.

From a historical point of view not only is the location and photographer of interest, but also the name of the sitter and most importantly, the date the likeness was taken. Thanks, Helen!

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it pays to advertise

Posted on July 1, 2021 by Robert

Camera Truck photo courtesy of Mark Osterman

Toronto, In 1921, the Mission Art Company, of South Spring Street in Los Angeles sent this  truck cum camera and its phtographers to promote its business. Mark Osterman, who along with his wife, spoke to us back in June of 1998, posted the image you see at left on Facebook.

According to Gettyimages, they hold the copyright and will sell you an actual print or licence you to use the print which is marked as Underwood Archives/Getty Images (the photo shows the studio address so many copies may exist to advertise this business).

Mark suggests that it is a “Model T Ford [with an] ultra large format dry plate camera”. Getty just calls it a “Truck Camera” and a “camera truck”. Looking closely at the image, it looks like a truck mounted mock up of a camera touting the company photographers. Perhaps Mark is speaking tongue-in-cheek since he is an acknowledged expert in that era of photographic history and earlier.

My dad worked on a Ford model TT truck many years ago after he retired. The example above could well have been a body built of wood on a model T or model TT chassis since the photograph is dated as 1921 by Getty. Ford trucks came with a body as of 1924 and were sold as chassis only from 1917 to 1923. My Model T manual was published in 1917 when, according to Wikipedia, only 3 truck chassis were made.

A big thanks to my friend and fellow PHSC member, George Dunbar, for finding this interesting photo and sharing it with us all.

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a little slip of a thing …

Posted on June 30, 2021 by Robert

Diaphragm of J H Dallmeyer Air Ministry lens 14A/780 f/2.9 8 inch F.L. Some say it covers a 5×7 plate, others an 8×10 plate.

Toronto. … said my mother in describing a skinny young girl. She could just as easily have been describing a Waterhouse stop, or a leaf in a photographic iris diaphragm. In fact, have you ever wondered when and who invented this amazing aperture control?

Rudolf Kingslake in his 1989 book, “A History of the Photographic Lens” (I have copy) says, ‘In the days of the daguerreotype, obviously no means for reducing the lens aperture was required, as photographers needed all the light they could get.’. He goes on to say, ‘The commonest means for aperture control is the familiar iris diaphragm. It is not known who invented this extremely ingenious mechanism, but it was apparently known early in the last [19th] century.’.

Wikipedia has an excellent discussion of the iris diaphragm and how it works. The article suggests, ‘Others credit Joseph Nicéphore Niépce for this device, around 1820. Mr. J. H. Brown, a member of the Royal Microscopical Society, appears to have invented a popular improved iris diaphragm by 1867.’.

These articles and points all relate to glass plate and film cameras of the last two centuries.

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The Amalgamated Photo History Newsletters Vol 2-6 (June 2021)

Posted on June 29, 2021 by Robert

Amalgamated Newsletters
2-6 (June 2021)

Toronto. The PHOTOGRAM for July 2010 is reproduced by permission here in our special members-only supplement. Also editor Lansdale added information on the HICO camera and related colour process. As a member of the PHSC, you received this supplement Monday, the 28th of June.

Vol 2-6 was sent out yesterday to all current members with an email address. If you did NOT get a copy, please email me at info@phsc.ca and I will send you a copy after verification of your membership. Not YET a member? well, for heaven’s sake! Grab your plastic and register via PayPal on the upper right of this page! And you can donate to the society the same way via PayPal, or go to our Canada Helps entry on the link below the PAY NOW button.

In the preamble, journal editor Bob Lansdale writes, “Welcome to our readings of the Amalgamated Newsletters for June 2021 to offset the effects of Covid.

“Martin Magid sends  us an issue of his home State newsletter, THE PHOTOGRAM from July 2010 where he undertook a series of “Panoramic Pinholes of Italy.”

“Also an unusual query on FACEBOOK sent me into the back files to resurrect a story on the HICO camera and the Hicrome Colour process.

“Martin Magid has prepared an INDEX of the Amalgamated Newsletters to assist you in finding a story..”

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monochrome memories

Posted on June 28, 2021 by Robert

Snap shot c1937 of family car

Toronto. Snapshots are a visual family history. Without them we have no way to tell how our ancestors looked, worked, partied, vacationed, lived, etc. Or what pets and possessions were special to them.

The late Brian Coe knew this when he and Paul Gates produced “The Snapshot Photograph” in 1977 showing “The rise of popular photography 1888 – 1939”. That is, from the announcement of the Kodak roll film camera to the eve of WW2.  This time period was not surprising since Coe (at least) worked for Kodak, and was British. In the book, credit is given to some people who became members of the PHSC.

The above photo is one I have and is printed with a date – July 1937, almost 84 years ago.  It shows a boy, his mother, and his dog around the family’s new 2 Door Chevy.

Note: the post title is a riff on the song “Watercolor Memories” from 1973’s “The Way We Were” sung by Barbra Streisand.

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let Ed do it

Posted on June 27, 2021 by Robert

Weston Portrait with Graflex

Toronto. One of the best known photographers in America was Edward Weston. I have a massive coffee table size book simply titled “Edward Weston: Fifty Years“. Published in 1973 by Aperture in the States, I bought my copy  new a year later. Today, asking prices for the 1st edition run from around $50US used to an eye-popping $980US new.

For most of his portraits, Weston used Graflex cameras and various lenses. For close-ups and landscapes he seemed to favour view cameras.

The ad shown here came from page 75 of the October, 1946 edition of Popular Photography, and is courtesy of good friend and photographic historian, George Dunbar, who willingly shared his find with us.

NB. The post title is a riff on a popular Toronto TV series in the 1950s – Let George Do It. The TV series showed how to fix various things around the house. However, the catch phrase actually dates back to at least 1940 when George Formby was the star of a UK film of the same name as the catch phrase (I remember the movie, but I must have seen it years later as I remember seeing George Formby use an old Leica under very improbable lighting in a submarine).

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when it all began

Posted on June 26, 2021 by Robert

1973 facsimile of 1841 text with added material

Toronto. Collectors and photo enthusiasts seldom remember Robert Hunt, an enthusiastic amateur photographer. Other prominent folk at the beginning of photography like Daguerre, Talbot, and Herschel are all well known for various reasons.

Daguerre of course for his pre-eminent Daguerreotype process which was offered gratis everywhere but England after the French government gave him a pension later in 1839. The Daguerreotype was the major process for well over a decade and spread world wide.

Talbot was wealthy and offered his alternative negative-positive process.  Negative-positive processes eventually took over from the contrasty, high resolution, one-off Daguerreotype process and stayed on top for a century and a half before the digital era took hold (glass plate and film processes relied on the negative-positive principle).

Herschel was also well known for the precursor to blue prints and he offered a better fixing solution (hypo) than weak salt. Hypo remained the standard for decades.

In 1841 Hunt wrote , “A Popular Treatise on the Art of Photography” which was the first popular manual on the new art. A version was reproduced in 1973 in a facsimile edition with added material by James Tong for the Ohio University Press (I have a copy of Tong’s facsimile edition). About a decade later, in the late 1840s/early 1850s, Hunt published what was to be the first Manual of Photography. We can all read the 4th edition, first published in 1854, courtesy of Google Books.

You can read a bit more on Hunt’s older 1841 book at Walkabout Books, and Abebooks – check out the asking price for a copy of the original (the facsimile version is dirt cheap).

NB. Books printed before about 1850 used paper made from cotton rag fibres. Today, they are as crisp and bright as the day they were printed. After about 1850, most papers were made from wood fibers causing post 1850ish books to slowly burn and go yellow/brown and brittle in time as the moisture in the air combined with the sulphur in the paper creating sulphuric acid.  Coating the edges of the paper with paint or gold foil slowed the discolouration as did tight storage. Late last century, archivists tried interspersing sheets soaked with an alkaline solution to neutralize the ph factor of the pages.

 

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