Your Oldest Lens

[Richard K.]

I'm freezing my as* off here. The good news is that we haven't had ANY snow this winter thus far. Watch it come roaring down now! Anyway...

Sipping on a Tim Horton's© coffee, the thought occurs:

What is the oldest lens that you:

a.) use regularly in your photography?
b.) own?

Tell us why you like it if you want.

My oldest is a Dallmeyer Wide Angle Rectilinear 13” f/15 1867, or it may be an
E. Anthony View 14” f/6.3 (?). I originally thought the Anthony was prior to 1860 since E. Anthony joined with his brother to form E. & H T Anthony in 1860 (?) but that may have not stopped production (or was it rebadging of Darlot lenses) under just the E A name and logo well up to the late 1800s. SO, I don't know its age or any way of telling (it could be anywhere from 1840 on). It's a pill box design with 2 apertures: cap off around f/6.3, cap on (with smaller opening on button), f/19 by my calculations. Here is a photo of it:

I use both in my photography and also a plethora of modern optics.

[jb7]

Good idea for a thread, can't wait to see where this one goes-

As a game of top trumps though, I think I may be out already at 1862-

[Marko Trebusak]

I'm freezing my as* off here. The good news is that we haven't had ANY snow this winter thus far. Watch it come roaring down now! Anyway...

Sipping on a Tim Horton's© coffee, the thought occurs:

What is the oldest lens that you:

a.) use regularly in your photography?
b.) own?

The oldest is probably Hermagis Eidoscope f5 no. 3. Can't date it, but since it still use French aperture system, I guess that it's older than 1912-1914 Cooke I also own.

I was out testing it in 30 cm of fresh snow. I like snow and there is plenty of it around this winter. Great! If forecast stays as it is: cold and snow till the end of next week, I'll be photographing icicles with both of them next weekend; even better!

Cheers,
Marko

[Bill_1856]

Richard, what is the field of "reasonable unsharpness" of your 13" Dallmeyer? Does it cut off sharply, or just fade away toward the edges?
Thanks,
Bill

[Wimpler]

My oldest is probably a Liesegang Globe lens (Kugellinse). It was made in Elberfeld, this dates it to 1854-1971.

[Diane Maher]

Oldest that I own: Voigtlander & Sohn number 7, I measured the distance as something like 638 mm. The serial number falls within the years of 1884-1885. I have used it a few times.

Oldest lens I use on a regular basis is my Crown Anastigmat 6½x8½.

[Steven Tribe]

I stop at 1860 (no.1686 Grubb meniscus - first style) but I am sure that there are lots of 3 figure Ross/Rofs out there that will bring it down to the early 1850's. There will no definite "winner" as serial numbers/accurate lists are thin on the ground.

[Moldville]

Help please!

I bought a Samuel Peck camera on ebay (eek) last week, which I believe (hope) to be appropriate to my target year of use of 1861. (In other words, that it would have been a camera in use in 1861.) What I'd like to do is build a time-appropriate STEREO lens board for it. I own a matched pair of GRUBB B lenses (photo attached), serial numbers 907 and 908. Would these be time appropriate to 1861? Or does anyone know how to approximate the age of these? Thank you!! Bill bollman@mdslaw.com

[CCHarrison]

Hi Bill,

Nice camera, I followed its sale. Please note that this model was advertised over a long period, so precise dating isnt easy; they were still being sold into the 1870's. Pecks badge and stampings remained on the cameras after his being bought out/merged in 1860 by Scovill.

I am curious why there is so little staining on the camera, and I dont see a drip rail/trough ? Matt Isenburg is likley to be the person that could date your camera far more precisely.

Also, the Peck camera would more likely to have used American made lenses,. In fact, Peck cameras were long associated with CC Harrison lenses (Globe and Portrait lenses for stereo work) and those would be more appropriate than Grubb lenses.

See Larry Pierce's Peck camera model which is almost identical to yours....


http://piercevaubel.com/cam/misc/peckstereofield.htm and its sister camera http://piercevaubel.com/cam/amopt/aophilst.htm


Good luck

Dan

[Moldville]

Hi Dan

Thanks for posting. I agree that the lens and lens board are not original - likely indicating to me that the camera was used in the wet plate era and retrofitted when dry plate became popular. I am in the market for a stereo lens board - know of any?!

This Samuel Peck camera is nearly identical to the one you provided the link to (Larry Pierce's). I don't see a drip rail on his either - do I? And this one now on my desk in fact seems to exhibit more staining than Larry Pierce's in that link. Attachment 76114
Everything seems beautiful about this camera - I now would like to find a c1855-1860 lens board! If you know of any 3-piece lens boards please email me at bollman@mdslaw.com

Thank you!
Bill