Hasselblad 1600F ad
from the May 1951
Pop Photo magazine
Toronto. My thanks to George Dunbar for finding this charming May 1951 ad for the original Hasselblad camera in Popular Photography magazine. Surprisingly the company goes way back to 1841. A photography division was first established in 1887. Popular recognition however, had to wait until after the second war. In 1948 Hasselblad came out with the model 1600F camera and as they say, the rest is history. By the late 1950s the camera and company were known world-wide.
Victor Hasselblad was a bird watcher and designed the 1600F to suit his hobby. However, the design of the camera body and lenses were such that the Hasselblad caught on with the professionals. Once quality and reliability issues were resolved they became a common sight in studios. Even today, while used models sell at far below the prices demanded in the heady days of film, the cameras, lenses and accessories bring in decent prices. Hasselblad still makes cameras today – high end digital models.
