look at my "new to me" brass lens and some questions

**eddie** · 9-Mar-2008, 06:13

hello all,

i got this neat brass lens the other day. it had a piece of paper taped to it that said 19 inch. i did not believe that BUT when i put it on my 4x5 it measured 18 or 19 inches. not bad. it is about 11.5 cm tall and the elements are about 7cm wide. it has a water house stop. and a flange! i see two large reflections and one small reflection in both the front and rear element.

i am sure it will cover 4x5. i am going to guess it will cover 8x10 (based on the fact it is a 19 inch lens). is this a correct assumption? will it cover larger formats at infinity? what is the lens design? what performance should i expect? what would be a good guess at max. f stop? f4-f5? i do not see any "swirlies" on my 4x5. i have sold my 8x10 so i can not check that.....my new 8x10 should be arriving any day so i will be able to test that later.

there is no markings or writing to give any info about the lens.

thanks for the info.

eddie

**Ole Tjugen** · 9-Mar-2008, 07:45

19 inches is about 480mm. With a 70mm aperture that makes it f:6.8, which is not too far off the typical speed of a Rapid Rectilinear. This is also consistent with the two large and one small reflections in each cell.

It should cover 11x14" with plenty of movements. I wouldn't expect to see "swirlies" with this lens on any film size smaller than 14x17"!

**Mark Sawyer** · 9-Mar-2008, 09:21

Agreement here with Ole; sounds like a Rapid Rectilinear. (A Petzval would have had four strong reflections at the rear due to the separated elements.) A lot of these old brass lenses were left unmarked by the manufacturer, to be engraved by the retailer who often didn't have access to an engraver or just didn't want to spend the time and money.

Definitely a camera lens (not a projection lens) as it has a Waterhouse Stop slot. Should be a lovely lens for your 8x10!

**eddie** · 9-Mar-2008, 11:53

OH BOY! sounds like fun! now if i can just talk alec into lending me his 11x14 to see what i can make her do would be perfect!

i plan to really enjoy her on my 8x10!

thanks guys.

eddie