Cooke Portrait engraving - or lack of it...

[peter brooks]

My new-to-me Cooke Portrait 10.5 inch f4.5 doesn't have any 'Tayor, Taylor & Hobson Ltd' (etc.) engraving on the barrel.

Going by the Cooke Compendium and the excellent Cooke Portrait Lens Serial Numbers thread on this forum the lens dates to around 1920.

From what I've seen TTH like to emblazon their name on the barrel whenever they can, and I've seen lenses that appear to be a similar age / model with engraving, so is this 'right'? Or could it indicate that part of the barrel has been replaced? Or is there another reason?







Many thanks,
Peter

[Barbara Lowry]

Hi Peter - Go to the Cooke Compendium at Cookeoptics.com, About Us, Lens History section. Go to Series II, f/4.5 Portrait lens. See the spec table for 10.5 inch. That is your lens. There have been custom lenses made for specific people and companies of all types and Series of Cooke lenses that have turned up out there. I have no records of these to tap into. I kind of doubt that the company made a "special" lens without engraving on the barrel at that time for anyone, but that's just conjecture.