Left and right hand aperture on TT&H Cooke

[richardman]

I love my 7" TT&H Series II Cooke so much that I just purchased an 8 1/2" TT&H Series IV Cooke. They look very similar and in fact the rear sections are the same diameter.

However, looking down from the front, the 7" has the 4.5 on the left end and F22 at the right end (Nikon style?) whereas the 8 1/2" has the 5.6 at the right end (Leica style).

Isn't it odd for a lensmaker to change the "handedness" of the aperture scale? Was one made for US market and one for UK market or something? Inquiring minds want to know :-)

[Steven Tribe]

No answers yet because, I think there is no logical answer! Both these series were in production a long time, with slight/major changes in design. Perhaps wheel stop lenses have their mounting on different sides on different models?