KALOSAT Lens - Hanovia Lens Laboratories ????

[Calphotography]

First posting - excuse me ahead of time if I screw it up.

Stopped by a garage sale last week. Nothing much there - a couple old 35mm that weren't worth anything and this old lens.

The lens intrigued me so I purchased it. Now I can not find any information on the lens.
The lens itself is different. It appears complete with only one lens element and it appears that the aperature is in front of the of the lens. The lens is marked KALOSAT SERIES 1A F: 4.5 (without focal length). What do I have ????

Any information shared is appreciated!
Dennis

[Dan Fromm]

Google. There are some seemingly insane collectors who value these things highly. Sooner or later K. D. Schmidt will look in here, notice y'r post, and contact you.

[lenser]

If you will simply Google Kalosat, there is quite a bit of info....mostly anechdotal, but some good mechanical stuff as well.

[Jon Wilson]

The Kolostat Series I f4.5 is a portrait lens which was constructed of a single element of quartz. It is suppose to provide one with a diffused effect, but still retain definnition and full color values....per Jay Allen's portrait lens publication.

You can estimate the focal length from measuring the distance from the wall and the image which appears, e.g., overhead light.

Nice find. Jon

[John Cahill]

This from a Google Search, fwiw.
Quote On:
Kalosat Portrait Lens. Bought from a camera dealer set up at a flea market.
He sells a lot of equipment--on and off Ebay--great guy, and his specialty is in the larger formats, so, I didn't have my hopes up.
Like many old portrait lenses, the Kalosat has one lens element, a yellow filter for simple color correction, and the diaphragm is in the front. They are extremely rare, but there was one, sitting amidst the broken Polaroids and Kodak Ponies.
"How much for the big lens?" I asked.
He picked it up, "It's missing the front element, I don't know where you'll find one. $10?"
Snagged it!
Quote off


What makes the lens rare is that it is made of quartz crystal, not glass, and will pass UV light. When using plates or emulsions sensitive to deep blue light (Tri-X is a modern film sensitive to UV,) the highlights are supposed to have a delicate glow to them which you cannot achieve with glass-element lenses.