Anyone have any experiences with the Clement & Gilmer Orthomegagraphe?

[Steven Tribe]

This a period of fancy names (1890's) - and this one is one of the most interesting. It is a combination of the early telephoto adjustable tube designs (which all makers developed) with a Portrait Petzval. In contrast to all the others that used RR/aplanats for "distance shots", this was specifically designed for getting longer focal lengths and better sized negatives in portrait studios. The only information I have is the description and catalogue illustration page 300 in D'Agostini's book.

Was it just a non-saleable item in the catalogue? Did anyone else make something similar (I exclude the additional -ve lens in the Objectif d'Artiste and similar non-Petzval designs).

Could one make something similar from the dozens of unused tele tubes we bought by mistake?

The obvious loss of speed is no longer a real problem - it may well be an advantage.

I will post the page image when the net is more friendly.

[Steven Tribe]

Corrado has no problem with short extracts from his book!

The aperture has a plain numerical series. Obviously, there would have been a table which would give relevant F values for specifc enlargements.