Cooke Portrait Lens Serial Numbers

[Tin Can]

Nice Will,

I wish we all presented pics of the lens on the forum and not embeds. I’m guilty of embeds now.

[karl french]

Will, thanks for those. That's the earliest 10.5" IIA I have on the list. Most of the early IIA lenses are 12" so far.

[Jim Galli]

Karl, when do we get to see your work?

[thegreatcornholio]

Mine is a IIE 15" f4.5 Knuckler S/N 221188

[karl french]

Here is a link to the Google sheet:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing

I'm curious as to the earliest IIE serial number. Tri's (former?) 27" IID f4.5 falls before what I would have expected for the start of IIE & IID.

It's a small start and definitely a work in progress.

Thanks for all your serial/series numbers.

[fabphoto73]

Mine is a IIE 12.75" f4.5 Knuckler S/N 219569

[Steven Tribe]

The spreadsheet includes the IIC model, which was called the "home portraiture" lens. This did not have the soft adjustment through movement of the central lens. All versions after a specific serial number (I think the approx no. is in Lens VM) are coated. Apart from B & J's conversions, there are other earlier serial numbers which were coated post WW2 by their loving owners!

[karl french]

Yes, the IIC is an odd bird. I suspect there are not that many out there. Why would anyone buy a IIC rather than an Aviar in the same focal length? The 13.5" Aviar was a more expensive and the 15" focal length was not available as a series II. I included it in spite of no diffusion control based on the fact that Cooke called it a "Portrait Anastigmat" and it was marketed along side the IIB.

Yes, I suspect all post-war examples are coated.

[Amedeus]

Adding two more of mine to the list

Series VI, 13", f5.6, knuckler, #202,102

Series VI, 13", f5.6, no-knuckler, #107,598

Two more Cooke Portrait lenses in storage somewhere ...

Also interesting to see that the two Series VI, 18.4" f5.6 are only two numbers apart ... 24768 and 24770 ... possibly only one small series ?

Cheers,

[russyoung]

Series II 13" #110957

Series IIb 10.5" #210835

Series VI 13" #36788

Series VI 16" #56763

Series VI 16" #56764

Have two others in a queue at a machinist's, will report on them when they are eventually returned.

cheerio,

Russ Young