pas de duex

Posted on July 10, 2024 by Robert

the c1940 Kodak Deux camera courtesy of Stan White

Toronto. The late Stan White chose to highlight the little Kodak Duex camera in the column “A Treasure from my Collection”. Only retailed for a couple of years, the Duex was an ugly duckling to camera collectors.

Stan begins the tale, “I suppose that because of the extraordinary number of cameras that have been and are, that some will not get the collector-attention they deserve. According to the literature, the Kodak Duex is not particularly collectable or rare. Perhaps I had been unlucky but I’d never seen one until a few weeks ago, when in flea market, there it was.

“It was manufactured from 1940 to 1942. Its construction mirrors the shortages that were to come with the war and is mostly Bakelite.”

Stan’s column continues in our journal issue 38-2 sent to all members. More recent members can read this issue on our DVD they received by mail. It includes pdfs of all volumes of Photographic Canadiana from  1 to 40. No DVD? Not a member? Well, you can easily fix that! Just go to the right hand sidebar or the MEMBERSHIP menu item above and sign up today!

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Dag-nab-it again

Posted on July 9, 2024 by Robert

Part of the Isenberg collection – photo by Robert Lansdale

Toronto. In journal issue 38-2, an article titled, “MATTHEW ISENBURG’S Collection Comes to Toronto” penned by our late editor Bob Lansdale expands on the then recent press release. Bob writes, “The Matthew R. Isenburg Collection of early photography has been sold to the Archive of Modern Conflict (AMC) for a record $nn million. It has been removed to its new home in Toronto where a research facility is planned for future display.

“This is the most significant and historically important sale of photographic material of the last 50 years although there have been other higher-priced sales in the past. The sale was agreed in April but held under wraps until a press release by Rob McElroy revealed the secret in July. (See our PHSC E-Mail Newsletter for July, Vol. 12-5.)”

Matt was an occasional guest speaker at our meetings and Bob was well known to Matt as both belonged to the Daguerreian Society as did our past president Dr Mike Robinson of Toronto who became curator of the collection at one point (Matt and Mike have each been  president of the Daguerreian Society).

Members can read the balance of this informative article on our DVD which covers Volumes 1 – 40 inclusive of Photographic Canadiana. Not a member? It is easy to join! See the right-hand sidebar and pay by PayPal or go to the above drop down menu ‘MEMBERSHIP’. A copy of the DVD will be sent off via Canada Post.

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kidding around …

Posted on July 8, 2024 by Robert

a beautiful late 1870s portrait of a child – from the Robert Lansdale collection

Toronto. … in the 1870s. Hard to imagine, but this crisp, well exposed portrait of a little girl is over 150 years old! Many prints this old – or far younger – have succumbed to fading,  lost detail, etc. This image, while upscaled in Topaz Photo AI and sharpened slightly in Focus Magic, is still an eye-catching portrait of a small child. In fact, even unadjusted it was used as a cover shot on issue 38-2 of our journal.

Its wonderful shading and crispness – even a century and a half later is a testament to the photographer, and the unusual process used. Our late editor, Bob Lansdale says it best, “The adorable portrait on our cover is by Turner & Drinkwater of Hull, England from the late 1870s.

“It retains its full image from fading because it is a Patent Chromotype permanent print, otherwise known as a Carbon print. The Chromotype process lasted about 10 years before going out of favour for the more easily produced Bromide print process.”

Bob specialized in collecting these beautifully preserved photographs of which this is but one example. In other issues he published articles explaining the timeless process in its various forms and names.

The detailed and well researched articles on the Chromotype process are on the DVD we send to all members. The personal DVD which we mail covers Photographic Canadiana volumes 1 – 40, a full index, and other goodies.. Not a member? Just follow the steps to the right, or view the MEMBERSHIP menu item above. Sign up and the DVD will be sent to you via Canada Post.

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triple tengor tango

Posted on July 7, 2024 by Robert

trio of box Tengors – photo by Bob Lansdale

Toronto. After WW1, the German camera industry was in a crisis – too many companies making too many cameras that were very similar. The government invited  Zeiss to  the dance and the mighty Zeiss-Ikon was formed. Zeiss Ikon and a few independent camera makers like Rollei and Leica became the new German camera industry.

One survivor was the name “Box Tengor”. On the front cover of issue 36-4 of our journal, editor Bob Lansdale featured a trio of Tengors dating from c1926-c1956. The image was upscaled by Topaz Photo AI which also made the lettering a bit odd.

In Bob’s own words, “Three samples of the Zeiss Box Tengor cameras are displayed on our cover. They were part of the recent Engel’s Estate Auction and represent models from 1926 (at the top) through to 1956 (at bottom). This covers the turbulent time in Germany when it was trying to regain dominance in photography manufacturing.

“Germany needed foreign currency to pay off World War I debts and to stabilize runaway inflation. German camera manufacturers Contessa-Nettel, Ernemann, Goerz and Ica merged to form Zeiss Ikon in 1926 requiring the elimination of many competing cameras and models. The Box Tengor survived.”

Browse the web to learn more, or if possible pick up the very rare and massive (7.5 pounds) book “Zeiss and Photography” by Larry Gubas. This book was printed in Manitoba by Friesens. I purchased a copy as did a few other PHSC members when the book was initially sold.  contrary to some internet commentary the book is not “1.58 pounds” and did indeed have an editor (associated with the west coast publisher).

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soft subject, soft lighting

Posted on July 6, 2024 by Robert

a soft lighting study courtesy of a c1933 issue of Camera Craft magazine

Toronto. An unidentified writer (our editor?) said in a prelude to the article “Wither Soft Light of the 1930s …”

“I’ve been perplexed for years by certain lighting of nudes during the pictorial period. I don’t make any great study of nudes but such pictures, as per the sample, urge me to question of HOW WAS IT DONE?

“I know it must be flat lighting but it looks like some special effect has been applied to the image such as the sabattier process.

“I was trolling through a newly acquired copy of a 1933 issue of Camera Craft magazine when suddenly I was confronted with another example of this technique. And to my joy the author of the accompanying article, Fred P. Peel, ARPS, explained the whole process of his “Shadowless Lighting.””.

Anyone who has enjoyed Crime Scene TV (like the CSI series) have seen photos of the body taken wth a ring flash around the lens to create “shadowless” lighting. To enjoy the rest of the detailed and illustrated article, see Photographic Canadiana, issue 38-1 which was sent to members in May/June 2012 by mail. More recent members could also read this article on the DVD sent by the PHSC (covers Photographic Canadiana volumes 1 – 40). Not a member? Just follow the steps to the right, or view the MEMBERSHIP menu item above. Sign up and the DVD will be sent to you via Canada Post.

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colour! colour! colour!

Posted on July 5, 2024 by Robert

Micro camera c1915

Toronto. Like Leonardo before him, a Frenchman came up with all the ways to create colour photography long before technology made them possible. One concept was to catch the image simultaneously on three B&W plates, each plate exposed through a filter.

This dream came true when plates could be made sensitive to a wider spectrum of visible light and cameras like the Hicro came to market.

In our journal, issue 38-1 (May-June 2012) editor Lansdale explains, “Our cover [see photo at left – adjusted with Topaz Photo AI] depicts a small camera from 1915 wherein Henry Hess and Frederic E. Ives tried to introduce a more simplified colour camera to the market.

“It produced three separate B&W separation negatives through a most ingenious system of mirror [and] tri-pa[c]k plates. It came to an end when America entered the First World War in 1917. See the full revelation starting on page 5.”

Bob found his Hicro camera in October, 2011 at the PhotoHistory Symposium down in Rochester, NY. The detailed and well researched article beginning on page 5 of this issue  was read in hard copy by members back then  – or if members joined more recently, on their personal DVD which we mailed (covers Photographic Canadiana volumes 1 – 40). Not a member? Just follow the steps to the right, or view the MEMBERSHIP menu item above. Sign up and the DVD will be sent to you via Canada Post. Note: both hard copy and the DVD version have some colour photographs created by the camera!

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a cheesy story c1870

Posted on July 4, 2024 by Robert

cheese boxes c1870 – tintype from LAC collection

Toronto. First, let me say a happy July 4th to our friends south of our border on behalf of the PHSC! Enjoy your holiday, folks.

The photos of box making in the 1870s are interesting in many ways: a record of work; taken by natural light (indoor shots); and taken as tintypes. Today, boxes or packings are made of other materials, not wood. Image collectors seek out scenes of workshops, factories, etc.

The tintype, an offshoot of wet-plate, dry-plate photography (the collodion process) is very cheap to make and strong enough to mail but most collectors have a few kicking around.

The ones in this article are unique and were added to the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) collection. The workshop shown was in a small Ontario village (100 souls in the 1870 period) and the workshop was identified by other photographs. The photographer who took the tintypes remains a mystery.

Editor Bob Lansdale explains in issue 37-4 of our journal (early 2012), “The information is in the detail. The larger this picture is increased then the better the details of information gleaned in regards to the making of cheese boxes in Maberly, Ontario in the 1870s.

“Tintypes are a rarity when it comes to recording industry so Guy Tessier of Library and Archives Canada chose these images as a highlight of his career during 33 years at the LAC. You will find the full story on page 4 with three pages devoted to the story.”

The detailed and well researched article on the box making tintypes is in issue 37-4 as notes earlier. Issue 37-4 was mailed to the members back then  – or if members joined more recently, on the DVD we mailed (covers Photographic Canadiana volumes 1 – 40). Not a member? Just follow the steps to the right, or view the MEMBERSHIP menu item above. Sign up and the DVD will be sent to you via snail mail.

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and the bridge came tumbling down …

Posted on July 3, 2024 by Robert

Niagara Arch bridge footings on American side crushed by ice flow in early 1938 – courtesy Gibson Library, Brock University

Toronto.  Editor Bob Lansdale received an email from England and began a search for a mysterious bridge.

Bob writes, “The monster footings to the Steel Arch Bridge at Niagara Falls, built in 1897-98, proved to be the down fall of the structure when in January 1938 a build-up of ice swept away the footing on the American side.

“Starting on page 15 we have a story by John Marriage, editor of Photographica World – journal of the Photographic Collectors Club in Great Britain, who purchased a mystery image in an antique shop in Devon, England. Unable to identify the bridge, Marriage turned to members of the PHSC for assistance to trace the history of the bridge.”

Image collectors well know the value of photography to record earthly disasters – iconic or  mundane – and strive to discover the stories behind their photographs. If you have one in your collection, drop me a line (info@phsc.ca) and I will let our editors know (there may well be a journal story in the photo).

It truly is a small world! Issue 37-2 with the full story was mailed to all paid members back then (more recent members can read the story on their DVD (covers Photographic Canadiana volumes 1 – 40). Not yet a member? It’s easy – just follow the steps to the right, or view the MEMBERSHIP menu item above.

Note: The post title is from a song penned by one of my favourite Canadian singers – Stompin’ Tom Conn0rs. The song is a memorial to the 19 souls who died out in Vancouver when the bridge at Berard Inlet collapsed in a wind storm in 1958 during its construction. Here’s Tom singing his song.

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Trunk Sale this Sunday July 14, 2024

Posted on July 2, 2024 by Robert

OK folks, our popular Trunk Sale is July 14th this year at the Trident Hall (rain or shine). Visit from 8 am ’til noon. Want a space? Have a question? Drop Clint a line fair@phsc.ca 

 

PHSC Summer Trunk Sale this July 14th

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1867 and all that

Posted on July 1, 2024 by Robert

Possibly the first daguerreotype produced in Canada, Niagara Falls by Hugh Lee Pattinson, 1840

Toronto. … to paraphrase a bit of “British history”  (1066 and all that). We are fortunate that photography was invented years before 1867 when the Dominion of Canada was formed.  The British North America Act(s) combined the British colonies of Canada East (Quebec), Canada West (Ontario), Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick into the Dominion of Canada in reaction to the American civil war. The act(s) set the stage for other colonies to join the Dominion, We celebrate July1st each year now as ‘Canada Day’.

The photo at left by Hugh Pattinson is believed to be the first photograph ever taken in ‘Canada’ – some 27 years before we became a country. At the time Niagara Falls was in the colony of Upper Canada, shortly to become Canada West and then the Province of Ontario.

Image collectors  who know their history seek out such rare pre-confederation photos taken in the future Dominion.  Have a great holiday everyone, and remember the significance of July 1st, 1867.

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