Is THIS the Holy Grail?

[CCHarrison]

And to follow up on what Wimpler said...

I too have seen production figures as low as 2,000 on the Globe based on Serial numbers etc... but certainly less than 5,000.

Since no Harrison Petzval has been seen with a serial # greater than the 12,000 range, even the Petzvals are "uncommmon"

CC Harrison was given loans by Scovill and EHT Anthony about 1861 to help finance his operations, and Anthony owned a fairly substantial interest in the firm...about 1862-3, Anthony sold those interests to Nelson Wright ( see attached # 1 ), then after Harrsion died in 1864, Wright sold out to American Optical late 1864/early 1865 ( see attached # 2 from 1866 Humphrey's Journal advertisement)....Then, about 1867, American Optical was bought out by Scovill ( see attached #3).....The Globes would continue to be sold thru about 1872ish...then Richard Morrison took center stage as the heir apparent as America's finest photographic optician and with his 1872 Patented Wide Angle Lens with significantly improved performance over the Globe ( see attached # 4 )....

Dan

PS - Joseph Zentmayer was also part of the Globe story..... Although primarily a Microscope maker/optician, he set out to prove he could improve upon the Globe lens in 1865-66*.... See http://www.americanartifacts.com/smma/micro/zenobit.htm for more information.... The Zentmayer Lens is as rare as could be.... Much more the "Holy Grail" of American Lens collectors than the Globe....by far.... see post below


* The story is a bit more complicated and involved Coleman Sellers....

[CCHarrison]

Zentmayer

[Richard K.]

Wimpler and CCHarrison, thanks for providing the context that evaded me when I started this post! Fascinating stuff. Can you recommend *another book on 19th and early 20th lens history? Thanks!

*I have Kingslake

[Richard K.]

......and with some data from Milan Zahorcak......

Sorry for my ignorance , but is this a reference to a book? If so, do you have a title? Thanks!

[eddie]

milan is person. he is one of the most knowledgeable people on the subject

[Wimpler]

In French:

Traité encyclopédique de photographie de Charles Fabre, 1889
(http://www.suaudeau.eu/memo/Fabre/Fabre.html)

In German:

Die Photografischen Objektive, Josef Maria Eder, 1911
(Part of Ausfuhrliches Handbuch der Photographie (Band 1, 4. teil) )

In English:

A history of the photographic lens, Rudolf Kingslake, 1989
(part available on google books: http://books.google.com/books?id=OJr...age&q=&f=false)

Photographic optics: including the description of lenses and enlarging ... , Désiré van Monckhoven,1867
(google books: http://books.google.com/books?id=Rzh...age&q=&f=false)

In Dutch:

Het fotografische objectief, H.M. Dekking, 1947


That is the sources I use most often

There are a lot of old lens catalogues on http://cameraeccentric.com/info.html that contain a lot of valuable info.


And here is an interesting article on the history of lens design:

IMAGE (1982. vol 25. issue 3–4.)
http://image.eastmanhouse.org/node/133

[CCHarrison]

There is no single book that tells the entire story but here are some favorites:


The Origins of American Photography: From Daguerreotype to Dry-Plate, 1839-1885: The Hallmark Photographic Collection at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Hardcover)....http://www.amazon.com/dp/0300122861?...AY833VXCNNC58&


Images and Enterprise: Technology and the American Photographic Industry, 1839-1925.... http://www.amazon.com/dp/0801835496?...JN8YQP3W34RCY&


The Focal Encyclopedia of Photography ( in which Milan writes the lens section )......http://www.amazon.com/dp/0240807405?...5EX3RGAPAMWQ4&


The History of Photography: As Seen Through the Spira Collection ....http://www.amazon.com/dp/0893819530?...5EX3RGAPAMWQ4&


Photography and the American Scene: A Social History, 1839-1889 (Paperback).....http://www.amazon.com/dp/1597405868?...5EX3RGAPAMWQ4&


Camera: A History of Photography from Daguerreotype to Digital......http://www.amazon.com/dp/1402756569?...5EX3RGAPAMWQ4&



You can also search the "Wood & Brass" Forum I founded many years ago ( now archived ) here http://lists.kjsl.com/pipermail/woodandbrass/ of which Milan was a frequent writer...

And finally the current Wood & Brass Forum on Yahoo Groups ( alive but on life support ) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/woodandbrass/


Dan

[Richard K.]

Thank you, Wimpler and Dan...

I'll now be spending some time on ABEBooks...

[Richard K.]

And here is an interesting article on the history of lens design:

IMAGE (1982. vol 25. issue 3–4.)
http://image.eastmanhouse.org/node/133

I downloaded this issue from GEH but it stops at page 27 (the good stuff starts on P. 37). Do they allow only a partial DL? Thanks!