From the few diagrams I've seen, the Dallmeyer "patent" has thicker glass in one rear lens, can't recall which, than the original Petzval formula. It stands to reason that an expert lens grinder, who invented many designs around 1866 (Landscape Rectilinear, Triple Achromat, Rapid Rectilinear) would have optimized his rear lenses for the reverse ordering.
If charley's lens appears to shoot worse in one or the other config, it's probably because it's glass is optimized for one or the other config. I don't believe Dallmeyer simply reversed the rear and said "give me a patent."
Also, "traditional swirl" is the opposite of what Dallmeyer was looking for. They wanted to reduce aberrations and have as wide a field as possible before falloff. Still, it is strange that your first set shows such falloff in the Original Config, such a lens would hardly be useful in the day.
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