E &H T Anthony Catalogue – 1888

Posted on March 15, 2018 by Robert

1888 catalogue Illustration

Toronto. Well before the young George Eastman established his glass plate manufacturing business and later the famous Kodak camera, the Anthony’s had established a thriving business selling photographic equipment and materials. Our treasurer and head of the PHSC Press, John Morden, recently scanned and produced a pdf version of Anthony’s 1888 catalogue.

This version was originally labelled as the “Illustrated Catalogue of Amateur Photographic Equipment and Materials” in a typically British tradition of rather long winded titles. This edition of the E & H.T. Anthony & Co. catalogue was titled inside as  Anthony’s Illustrated Catalogue and sold by the retailer James C. Cummins, 106 N. Charles St. Baltimore, MD. 

Download a copy here and enjoy its historical material (the Anthony business in time became known as Ansco,  and later was sold to GAF – General Aniline and Film – before disappearing from the scene. GAF is still in business today selling roofing shingles etc. My roof has GAF shingles)

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Stephen Hawking 1942 – 2018

Posted on March 14, 2018 by Robert

Stephen Hawking
1942 – 2018

Toronto. He wasn’t known as a photographer but as an author and physicist. Stephen Hawking contracted ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) while doing his doctorate at Cambridge. It was diagnosed when he was only 21 but progressed so slowly that he was able to continue work as a cosmologist.

He once joked that his was an ideal occupation for the disease since one only had to sit and think about the universe. In the late 1980s, my daughters bought me one of his books intended for the general reading public A Brief History of Time. His death on Wednesday,  March 14, 2018 was noted by publications around the world including the science journal, Nature. The Globe and Mail carried this column from the New York Times news service datelined London.

If you are  a fan of The Big Bang Theory on TV, you may have seen him there. He was of particular interest to me as I have a (rather ancient now) degree in Mathematics and Physics – and my father-in-law died from ALS when he was barely 65 years old.

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Fancy a Leica? a pricey Leica?

Posted on March 14, 2018 by Robert

Leica Null Series
32nd WestLicht Auction

Toronto. The 32nd WestLicht auction ended March 10, 2018 and a null Leica (Leica-0 series) in great shape sold for nearly $3 million dollars US!

According to WestLicht, ” Only approximately 25 of these cameras were produced to test the market in 1923, two years before the commercial introduction of the Leica A. The camera is in beautiful and fully working condition, all parts including the paintwork are original, with the matching lens cover and the original folding finder. The Leica 0-series is one of the major rarities in camera history – the camera no. 116 sold at WestLicht Auction in 2012 was the most expensive camera ever sold – this camera comes from the famous collection of Jim Jannard.”

Not too shabby for a little camera that has an f/3.5 fixed focus 5cm lens and a non-capping shutter! No slow speeds and roughly shutter speeds of 1/20th to 1/500th using a tiny rubber soaked fabric focal plane shutter with a variable slit width.

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Kryptar B&W film

Posted on March 13, 2018 by Robert

May 1948 LIFE magazine ad
for Kryptar Film

Toronto. Last Saturday, George Dunbar asked an interesting question, “Anyone ever heard of this film?” I certainly hadn’t. In 1948 I would have been in grade six and my family used only Kodak products as did most Canadians of the time. George’s question was about a film advertised in the May 1948 issue of LIFE.

A browse of the web with Google came up with little of interest. A photo-finishing service, Lux Eterna, offered a pdf for processing old and obscure films including Kryptar while other sites suggested using ordinary B&W developers and times.

Fiddling with the search phrase brought to light this newsletter written in the fall of 1999 by The Photographic Historical Society across the lake in Rochester. The newsletter then edited by the late Joe Bailey covered the short lived Kryptar Film Corp. that almost died in a fire about the time the LIFE magazine ad saw the light of day. The factory was rebuilt and Kryptar film lived on a bit longer.

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Oscar Munoz – Hasselblad award winner 2018

Posted on March 12, 2018 by Robert

Oscar Munoz winner
2018 Hasselblad Award

Toronto. Our membership secretary, Wayne Gilbert, dropped me a note the other day that announced this year’s winner of the Hasselbald award, photographer Oscar Munoz courtesy of the Mynewsdesk site.

After the second war, the Hasselblad camera became famous as a 2-1/4 square professional SLR with Zeiss lenses. It was the camera that a Leica owner might consider as an upgrade. A year after Victor Hasselblad died in 1978, Hasselblad established a foundation in the name of him and his wife.

“After Victor Hasselblad’s death in 1978, Erna and Victor Hasselblad’s Foundation was founded in 1979 in accordance with the couple’s last will and testament. The Foundation aims to promote research and academic teaching in the natural sciences and photography. This is achieved by awarding grants and stipends to the natural sciences and photography, a prestigious international photography award and stipends and grants to research projects in photography.”

 

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Kodak pushes its folders in 1948

Posted on March 11, 2018 by Robert

Kodak Folder ad in LIFE
for the Vigilant camera

Toronto. As a kid I can remember my father’s Kodak folder. It was a step up from the Kodak box camera he took west with him in the 1920s. If you wanted a better (higher resolution, faster speed, more flexible) camera, you chose a 35mm or a professional instrument like those in the Graflex line.

And of course you could upgrade your Kodak!  In an 1948 ad taken out in the April 19th issue of LIFE magazine, Kodak proudly promoted its Vigilant folder as ideal for family pictures – both black and white and colour. The ad shows a middle of the road f/6.3 lens with both faster and slow lenses offered too. And you could even buy a flash gun to use for fill-in flash in bright daylight or to get indoor and low light level shots!

Thanks once again to my friend and fellow PHSC member, George Dunbar, for sourcing this memorable ad  from a bygone era.

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Wollensak

Posted on March 10, 2018 by Robert

Wollensak advert
April 5, 1948 LIFE

Toronto. The Wollensak company in Rochester NY made many fine optical components many years ago including lenses for the screw mount Leicas during the war when authentic Leitz lenses were unavailable. Communication companies like Bell Canada used their products (photographing traffic registers to aid in engineering switch extensions).

They were known for reel to reel tape recorders and movie cameras as well in their heigh days.

My thanks to George Dunbar for sourcing this 1948 advert for Wollensak.

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the late Diane Arbus

Posted on March 9, 2018 by Robert

Diane Arbus NYC Automat
circa 1968.
Roz Kelly/Michael Ochs Archives
via Getty Images

Toronto. I was first introduced to the works of Diane Arbus around 1970 in the TIME-LIFE series of books on photography. They conveyed little if any of her tumultuous history. In the NY Times for Thursday, March 8th an article celebrated International Woman’s Day by discussing those now famous women who were ignored on their death.

My thanks to George Dunbar for bringing to my attention this series of fine biographies including that for Ms Arbus (born Diane  Nemerov in NYC).

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NY Photography Fair April 7&8, 2018

Posted on March 8, 2018 by Robert

NY Photography Fair
by Daguerreian Society

Toronto. The Daguerreian Society is hosting a two year show in NYC this year. April 7th and 8th weekend promises to be delightful in the Big Apple. So if you miss the Montreal show on the 8th, Consider hitting NYC.

Full details are posted here for the NY Photography Fair.

 

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Washington DC March 11, 2018 Show

Posted on March 7, 2018 by Robert

35th Annual DC Show – Photos, Postcards, Cameras

Toronto. PHSC member Tom Rall sent me an email the other day announcing the show in DC this coming Sunday, March 11th. The 35th Annual DC Antique Photo Show (Arlington, VA) will have photographs, postcards and cameras for adding to your collection.

If you happen to be in town, perhaps visiting the Donald, or perhaps not, drop in and see this show this coming Sunday over in Rosslyn. As in previous years, Diverse Markets Management will host the show. 

“The hotel is walking distance from Georgetown and only one block from the Rosslyn station on Metro’s orange, blue and silver lines. Parking is free.” And students with I.D. will be admitted free too!

 

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