Lot 245 shows just some of the many film lots ready for the Nov 24 auction
Toronto. … or is it flights of fancy? Whatever. We are closing in on our fall auction date of November 24, 2024!
Be sure to join us and have a great Sunday, see old friends, find lots of neat goodies for the collection or user gear.
Details are dead simple! Just see the post/poster here. There are photos of many lots too. Free parking, free admission, easy access to the area. Be cozy indoors on this coolish November day.
c1903 Leroy – combination stereo and panoramic camera from France – Courtesy of Brian Coe, AB Nordbok, and Crown Publishing
Toronto. … with apologies to the late Sam Shopsowitz and his catchy jingle. Sam’s daughter, Karen, Spoke to the society back on September 15, 2004 about her father’s home movies. This post is on a different topic – a rare and unusual stereo camera c1903.
In the later 1800s – early 1900s, the French seemed to have a passion for making unusual cameras. The ‘Leroy’ is typical. It is both a stereo camera and a panoramic camera depending on the rotation of one lens (rotation automatically swings the septum plate to block the second (and unused) lens.
The line drawing is from the late Brian Coe’s book ‘Cameras‘, copyrighted 1978 by AB Nordbok, Sweden and printed in the same year in the USA by Crown Publishers. Coe’s book is eye-catching as the illustrations are a mix of line drawings and drawn coloured illustrations – a book on photography and cameras with no photographs! If you don’t have a copy in your collection – keep an eye out for one! I bought mine new a year after publication and it is very slowly discolouring on each page edge (any book etc printed after the mid 1800s likely uses paper made from wood chips (pulp) and is prone to self destruction by the very air in a room converting the pulp and moisture into sulphuric acid).
Japanese Camera Museum in Tokyo
Toronto. From time to time the Journal reprints articles of interest to PHSC members. In issue 18-4, editor Roseborough chose to reprint a fully illustrated article on the camera museum in Tokyo. “This is another in our series of photographic museums throughout the world. It originally was printed in issues 16 and 17 of Olympus magazine VisionAge. Our condensed version is printed with the kind permission of VisionAge Editorial Office. Olympus Optical Co. Ltd. Tokyo. Japan.”
Enjoy this article in the fullest by joining the PHSC and viewing it in pdf format on the members-only DVD. It’s easy to join us, see above (and at right) for helpful means. Any Questions, just give Lilianne a shout at member@phsc.ca.
Bill Belier’s ‘something’ identified and discussed by Bob Lansdale in Jan 1993
Toronto. Journal editor Ev Roseborough in issue 18-4 revisits Bill Belier’s ‘something’ after a lengthy conversation with future journal editor, Bob Lansdale and Bob’s correct identification of this bit of history.
Ev begins, “Gather round, dear readers, for the final episode of the great Photographic Canadiana ‘whatsit’ competition.
“Our members’ suggestions ran the gamut of photographica. The contest ended without a correct answer by the October 31, 1991, deadline. Fred Warner’s two-page letter was awarded a book for some ingenious sleuthing (PC17-4).
“In Volume 17 No.2 (Sept.-Oct. 1991) Bill Belier’s “Something” contest invited readers to explain:
(a) what is it?
(b) how it was used, and with what,
(c) the function of the ring gear,
(d) the function of the saddle,
(e) the presence of a burn,
(f) the peculiar styling of the handles, and
(g) the inverted lens mounting.
“In the meantime, I had written the answers in response to many inquiries but this is the first opportunity to publish them. In November Bob Lansdale spotted an illustration in Stanley Triggs’ book William Notman, The Story [Stamp ?] of a Studio which rang a bell and he lost no time in sending a print. Of course, he was right. …”
The rest of Ev’s article is available as a pdf on the members-only DVD. And to save you time to find out how to join us and get the DVD, see above (and at right). Any Questions, just give Lilianne an email at member@phsc.ca.
Rev George Maynard of UCC courtesy of UCC Archives
Toronto. A few years before successful photographic processes were formally announced, Reverend Maynard wrote his first letter letter on stereo vision to the Toronto Royal Standard. It was reproduced in issue 18-3 courtesy of Dr Robert Wilson of the PHSC.
Bob accompanies the letter and images with an article on the topic. He begins, “While the basic knowledge of binocular vision had existed since about 280 BC, it was not until 1832 when Sir Charles Wheatstone produced the first stereoscopic drawings and had an optical device (a stereoscope) produced in order to view these drawings.
“Wheatstone presented this work to the Royal Society in 1838. In 1840, shortly after William Henry Fox Talbot revealed his new photographic process, Wheatstone arranged for Talbot to make the first stereoscopic photographs using Talbot’s new calotype process.
“Sir David Brewster was a contemporary of Wheatstone and was also involved early in stereoscopic history, designing his own stereoscope in the 1840’s. In the 1850’s, Brewster and Wheatstone had an ongoing correspondence in The Times (of London). In these letters, reference was made to two letters on stereo vision which appeared in Toronto newspapers.
“The first of these Toronto items appeared in the Toronto Royal Standard on November 28, 1836 and was signed ‘Theophilus’. Twenty years later, the second letter appeared in the Toronto Times and the author identified himself as being Mr. George Maynard [a very controversial mathematics master at UCC]. Maynard sent a copy of this second letter to Sir David Brewster.
“Brewster referred to Maynard’s Toronto Times letter in his own correspondence with Wheatstone in The Times (of London) of November 5, 1856. In the Toronto Times letter, Maynard expressed the hope that the comments in his original 1836 letter would prove to be the first on stereo vision. While it turned out that it was not the first on the subject, the 1836 letter was indeed an early discussion, being published two years before Wheatstone’s paper to the Royal Society. …”
The rest of the article is available on the members-only DVD. And to save you the headache of finding elsewhere how to join us and get the DVD with the issue 18-3 pdf file, above (and at right) are helpful means for you to join the PHSC and read Dr Wilson’s entire article. Any Questions, just give Lilianne a shout at member@phsc.ca.
Cover shot, Professional Photographers, 1897 – photo by J H Hopkins, President, PAofC, St Thomas ON
Toronto. In the days before – long before – the digital era, we learned of new photographic processes and apparatus through magazines. In the 1950s – 1980s, I bought every photography magazine in sight. These magazines were kept for a few years, and then ‘tossed’. Today they are rare historic artifacts – the older the better, showing the way this wonderful form of imagery evolved.
In issue 18-3, the late Bob Lansdale wrote a massive, illustrated, six page article on Canadian Photography magazines titled, “Canadian Photo Magazines – 100 Years Ago [i.e. from about 1892]”.
Bob begins his article, “This article was originally intended to illumine one of Canada’s first mature photographic magazines, THE CANADIAN PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNAL, which embarked on its short career one hundred years ago. But readings of microfilms this past summer suggest I widen the scope of this presentation to include other publications from as far away as St. Louis, Missouri .
“I was attracted to nineteenth century photographic journals after reading an article by PHSC Secretary Tiit Kodar published in THE ART AND PICTORIAL PRESS IN CANADA (Art Gallery of Ontario – (1979). In his treatise, “Northern Lights: Canadian Photography Journals Past and Present”, Mr. Kodar indicates honours for the first photographic journal in Canada should go to Maclear & Co. of Toronto who published THE CANADIAN JOURNAL OF PHOTOGRAPHY in June 1864.
“Thomas Maclear, stationer and bookseller, printed and published the popular carte-de-visite portraits of notables taken by Toronto and vicinity photographers. Collecting photographic cartes was just as popular then as today’s fad of collecting sports cards.”
Here we go again … members got the members-only DVD with the included issue18-3 in pdf format. Above and at right are helpful means for you to join the PHSC and read Mr Lansdale’s entire article. Any Questions, just give Lilianne a shout at member@phsc.ca.
Toronto. First off, please take a minute today in silence to think about those brave souls who gave up their lives that we could enjoy this great country of ours. November 11th each year we commemorate all our fallen soldiers.
One serious necessity for any advanced amateur or professional photographer in the days of films and glass plates was a serious darkroom. The ad below from a 1907 periodical illustrates the offerings from a British company (remember, back then we stoutly followed the UK, not the USA). The ad adorns the back cover of our 18-3 issue of Photographica Canadiana.
Remember too, that our fall Auction is coming up fast (November 24) and the opportunity to augment your collection or user gear be it film or digital.
Ad for Dark-Rooms fabricated by ‘The Process & Engineering Co.’ of London, England
Iris McCaig and portrait of C G Milne – courtesy of Robert Lansdale
Toronto. In the article. “IRIS MCCAIG AND THE PORTRAIT OF CHARLES G. MILNE” the late Bob Lansdale relates his chat with Iris at 82 in the early fall 1992 journal issue 18-2. Iris is famous not only as a long time professional photographer, but as the first woman to be president of the OSP (later the PPO, and later still the PPOC).
Bob begins his lengthy article, “Iris McCaig, aged 82 of Toronto, has vivid memories of her life in professional photography. Well into her retirement years “Coogles” as she is affectionately called by her closest friends, closed up her cameras in 1984 after an era of fifty-five years during which photography changed dramatically. She earned an honoured niche in the history of the Professional Photographers of Ontario by being the first woman President of that association in 1959 and ’60 when the association was named the Ontario Society of Photographers.
“‘I graduated from Art College in 1930 at the age of eighteen’, recalls Iris, ‘and my father suggested I try for a job with a portrait photographer that he knew through the Kiwanis. We visited the studio of Charles Aylett near the bottom of Yonge Street; but he already had a young apprentice named Randolph MacDonald’. [Aylett, one of Toronto’s most accomplished photographers, was OSP President in 1923 and has been the only Canadian. to serve as President of the Professional Photographers of America.
“The apprentice, MacDonald, went on to become a leading Toronto society photographer and served also as OSP President in 1940. Lower Yonge and King Streets, since the earliest days of photography, was the centre for photographers studios. ‘Aylett arranged for me to see another photographer further up Yonge, a Mr. Charles G. Milne. I was taken on staff, forsaking my career as a trained artist, and was soon engulfed in the most wonderful world of professional photography. The 30’s were the best years for photography as portraiture still had a status aura attached to it’. …”
Well, I guess it bears repeating … members got the members-only DVD with the included issue18-2 in pdf format. Above and at right are helpful means for you to join the PHSC and read the entire article. Any Questions, just give Lilianne a shout at member@phsc.ca.
‘Vera’ in 1930 – John Vanderpant of Vancouver
Toronto. Members of a certain age group (old coots like me) remember the movie Laura and the haunting song of the same name. Nearly a century ago, John Vanderpant of Vancouver took this then fashionably soft focus portrait of a young lady simply known as ‘Vera’.
The photo is a cover shot for issue 18-2 and introduces the article on John Vanderpant (1884-1939) by Brodie Whitelaw. Brodie was a friend of Everett (journal editor) as well as a professional photographer in his own right and had actually met Vanderpant.
Brodie begins, “I had been a photography hobbyist in Vancouver, having acquired my first camera (Kodak folding V.P.) at age 12. Later I tried my hand at portraiture and found I could make a dollar or two doing home portraits of friends and acquaintances, and gradually built up a small business on the side, seek ing advice and constructive criticism from some local professionals.
“By far the most impressive of these was John Vanderpant, a native of the Netherlands, a man thoroughly grounded in design and composition, with a flare for the unusual. Whenever I had enough new material in my portfolio I would use this as an excuse for a visit to the “Master”.
“A cultured man, John made his home in Western Canada after leaving Alkmaar, Holland, bringing with him an approach to art, and photography, quite different to the North American fashions of the time. …”
You know the drill … members got the members-only DVD with included issue18-2 in pdf format. See above and at right to join and read the entire article (I still use one of the late Mr Whitelaw’s tripods). Any Questions, just give Lilianne a shout at member@phsc.ca.
A home made stereo rig using a Kodak Monitor and 620 film
Toronto. Alldyn Clark was a fan of stereo. He concocted various pieces to create his stereo gems. In issue 18-2, Alldyn tackled a Kodak Monitor with amazing results. His article is titled, “Res[s]urrection of a Kodak Monitor 620 Camera”.
The tripod mounted apparatus took closeups of many subjects including eye, teeth, and berries. Alldyn begins his article with this information, “In the March/April 1990 issue of Photographic Canadiana, I wrote an article on combining dual motorized Hasselblad cameras to obtain the ultimate in stereo photographs.
“Looking back to the year 1948 I had been using a Kodak 35 camera, the first the company put on the market. Kodachrome slides were taken until one day friends insisted on seeing prints, instead of slides, since these could be passed around as well as duplicated. So I decided to trade away from 35mm. and enter the roll film format.
“The first call was into Pylon’s Camera Exchange, then on the East side of Yonge St. in Toronto, without success. Young’s Photo, on Queen near Sherbourne, was just starting in business and didn’t have anything I wanted. I finally ended up at Lockhart’s Camera Exchange in a basement on Bay St. where I spotted a handsome Kodak Monitor 620 Camera.
“With a trade and an extra fifteen dollars I joined the world of the medium format. Many other cameras have gone through my hands since the 1948 trade for the Monitor and it had not been used for some time. An article on macro stereo inspired me to dig it up and see just what could be accomplished with it.”
Members could read the entire article (with photos) either in the hard copy issue or later the pdf version on the members-only DVD. Membership is cheap and easy – see above and to the right of this page. Questions? Give Lilianne a shout at member@phsc.ca.
Our next event is the Nov 24, 2024 Estate(s) Auction. Come on down and join in the fun! See this post and poster for guidance.
EVENTS
Click the above icon to download the form and mail a copy with your cheque. You can include your donation with the join/renew form too.
Stan White – Poems & Photos
Mise Au Point – sur la photographie Quebecois
