Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 11

Thread: Mystery lens

  1. #1

    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Victoria, Australia
    Posts
    8

    Mystery lens

    Any one know of this lens? Early brass construction with waterhouse stops,inscribed"made by A.Krufs in Hamburg for Y.Spencer in Glasgow; No,2362". Appears to be of a three element ,or three pairs of elements construction. The two outside elements[or pairs] are separated by an element[or pair]in about the centre. Focul length is about 280mm and covers 10x8 with lots of movement. Overall hieght is 55mm ,front element is 37mm,centre element is 25mm and rear element is46mm. Sorry no pictures at the moment. I hope someone can help. Regards, Frank.

  2. #2

    Re: Mystery lens

    John Spencer (and later his son John Jr. ) were long time sellers of photo equipment. Spencer goes way back as early as the 1850's.... 1858 ad attached.

    I see lots of references to a Dr Hugo Krufs of Hamburg (1880-1910 period), but very few from "A. Krufs" who I assume is related - likely son or father to Hugo...

    A photo of your lens would help a good deal.

    Hope this helps
    Dan

    Antique & Classic Camera Blog
    www.antiquecameras.net/blog.html

  3. #3

    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Germany
    Posts
    1,384

    Re: Mystery lens

    Capital A and H are hard to distinguish if you aren't familiar with the "gothic" German typefaces fashionable in the 19th century - given that there also seems to be a misreading of ü for u, I am quite convinced that that will have been a lens made or more likely formulated (he seems to have been a researcher and co-authored books on optics) by Hugo Krüfs...

  4. #4

    Re: Mystery lens

    Sevo,

    I thought the same intially, but there are references to thermometers being made by A Krufs and it looks like there is a distinct "A". See http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/2377212

    Best
    Dan

    Antique & Classic Camera Blog
    www.antiquecameras.net/blog.html

  5. #5

    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Germany
    Posts
    1,384

    Re: Mystery lens

    Barometers are within the 19th century scope of scientific glassware, and so are lenses. That may be the guy - or his father. I found further references to Hugo Krüfs, and it looks as if we both were right - in another publication he is listed as Professor A.H.Krüfs, owner of the Optical Institute A. Krüfs in Hamburg. He co-authored books on the optical properties of glass and on quartz dispersion - pretty damn close to be explicitly named as a lens designer...

  6. #6
    All metric sizes to 24x30 Ole Tjugen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2002
    Location
    Norway
    Posts
    3,383

    Re: Mystery lens

    Only one question left then - is it Krüfs or Krüſs?

    Thiele lists two lenses made by H. Krüss, and nothing from Krufs or Krüfs...

    Update: I think I found it! http://www.kruess.com/laboratory/about/company-history/
    Last edited by Ole Tjugen; 27-Jan-2012 at 00:17. Reason: Addendumdum

  7. #7

    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Germany
    Posts
    1,384

    Re: Mystery lens

    Ah, excellent point! Even the German library electronic catalogue got that wrong in scanning...

  8. #8

    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Denmark
    Posts
    6,246

    Re: Mystery lens

    My first thought was the fs used (even to-day) as a symbol for double ss in German - but I assumed that the early posters had already checked that!
    A variation of the Rofs/Ross confusion!

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Victoria, Australia
    Posts
    8

    Re: Mystery lens

    Thank you guys, you have solved the riddle of the name. It is now apparant that the name is A.Kruss ,with an umlat over the u. Not A. Krufs(with umlat)as i read it. Following your lead i stumbled onto a wikipedia site that shows a microscope inscribed in the exact same manner as my lens. Correct,SS not FS, well done. You are a bright bunch,thank you very much. I will try to provide you with a pic of the lens over this weekend. With a bit of luck we may be able to together find out what the design,exact focul length and speed is. I own quite a few vintage brass lenses,but this is the only one with an element in the middle of the front and rear lenses. Has anyone seen this before? Its common in more modern lenses. Thank you for your interest. Frank.

  10. #10
    All metric sizes to 24x30 Ole Tjugen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2002
    Location
    Norway
    Posts
    3,383

    Re: Mystery lens

    Hartmut Thiele's "Deutsche Photooptik von A - Z" lists only two lenses by Krüss, and both are Petzvals. Yours sounds much more like a triplet I believe.

Similar Threads

  1. Chamonix camera 45N-1 focusing error
    By GPS in forum Cameras & Camera Accessories
    Replies: 195
    Last Post: 5-Jan-2020, 09:11
  2. Lens distortion?
    By atlcruiser in forum Image Sharing (LF) & Discussion
    Replies: 56
    Last Post: 12-Oct-2011, 18:53
  3. That elusive term: "Perspective"
    By Heroique in forum Style & Technique
    Replies: 121
    Last Post: 25-Jun-2009, 02:48
  4. My stupid lens question.
    By e. a. smith in forum Lenses & Lens Accessories
    Replies: 30
    Last Post: 20-Mar-2007, 15:54
  5. Mystery 10 1/2" convertible lens
    By Joe Smigiel in forum Lenses & Lens Accessories
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 12-May-2005, 06:07

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •