Deardorff Extra Rapid Portrait lens

[formatoff]

Good Day everyone,

I'm owner of this lens. It was made by L.F.Deardorff, Chicago and has an aperture ring with 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 marks.
What is mean? Are there some catalogs for Deardorff lenses?
Thanks.

[CCHarrison]

1903 advertisement below. Deardorff did not make this lens - just labeled it as his.



118917

[CCHarrison]

more ads

118918

[CCHarrison]

118919

[Steven Tribe]

Dear Formatoff.

We are always glad to help you with your ebay listing as far as basic data when we can - although we would prefer owner/users!
Please don't ask about value as no one can make an accurate estimate of what these unusual items (like the 36cm Cooke/Voigtländer lens you asked about a month ago!) - even identical items listed close to each other fetch very different prices.

As you found out from your subsequent listing, unusual is not the same as value. My estimate in your thread about this one, based on the equivalent 36cm Heliar, didn't quite get a very good reception from you.

[formatoff]

Thank you for this info).
My example has a mark "Patent 1891". Who was an original maker of the lens? And how do I identify an aperture marks?

[formatoff]

Dear Steven,

I never asked about the Cooke/Voigtlander lens. I don't ask about estimate of the lens now.

[CCHarrison]

From http://www.ohio.edu/people/schneidw/deardorff/deardorff_camera_history.html

During the years from about 1885 until about 1900, Mr. Laben F. Deardorff worked for several companies including E. & H. T. Anthony, and Sweet-Wal1ach & Company, which later became the Eastman Kodak store. During this period he became very much interested in lenses and had Bausch & Lomb make changes in the Zeiss series 11 to make it more practical for photoengraving. These characteristics are still used in all process lenses. He also invented a Petzval type portrait lens which had adjustable separation for changing the shape of the field. On applying for a patent, he found that Ernst Gundlach of the Gundlach Optical Company had just patented it. Mr. Gundlach gave him the patent, and Mr. Deardorff had the lens made and sold it for a number of years. It was used for all of the official portraits made at the World's Fair in St. Louis in 1903.

[Steven Tribe]

My apologies! It was Poland, not Russia. Our previous correspondence was much more reasonable than the Polish voigtlander/cooke one!

[franeq]

Steven, do you see only sellers/re-sellers?

[Chauncey Walden]

Formatoff, those sound like Uniform Standard (US) aperture markings and would be equivalent to f/4, 5.6, 8, 11, and 16.

[formatoff]

Thank you so much for the good info for me, CCHarrison & Chauncey!
I'm gonna test it with my shutter.

[Amedeus]

I realize this is an older tread but I just want to add my 2 cents to this for future reference ...


http://amedeusphoto.zenfolio.com/blog/2015/7/deardorff-extra-rapid-portrait-4-lens

[AtlantaTerry]

I realize this is an older tread but I just want to add my 2 cents to this for future reference ...
I don't get it. What difference does it make if this thread is a day or a year or ten years old?

[Jim Galli]

I don't get it. What difference does it make if this thread is a day or a year or ten years old?

Rudi has given us new and very interesting information including pictures which is great! Thanks. Makes no difference if info is pertinent and people are interested. OTOH some threads are better left . . silent

[Amedeus]

Thanks Jim,

FWIW, I updated my blog post on the Deardorff Extra Rapid Portrait lens with a few more images I found on-line.

I also came across a saved ebay listing from July 15, 2010 showing a Deardorff Extra Rapid Portrait #4 lens that didn't have the Gundlach 1891 Patent helicoid (nor mention of the patent date) but instead had provision for the rear cells to be separated for extra "diffusion". Four (4) positions marked, not unlike the Dallmeyers ...

This is the lens type that's in the 1903 Deardorff catalog. The serial on the #4 is 1010 while the serial on the lens depicted in the catalog is 1013. Very close. The serial number on my #4 1891 patent Deardorff is 1054. For completeness, the unit I have also has the provision to separate the two rear cells ...

Gimmick, but nevertheless, it's there ...

http://amedeusphoto.zenfolio.com/blog/2015/7/deardorff-extra-rapid-portrait-4-lens

The new info can be found all the way at the bottom.

Cheers !

Rudi A.




Rudi has given us new and very interesting information including pictures which is great! Thanks. Makes no difference if info is pertinent and people are interested. OTOH some threads are better left . . silent

[Jim Galli]

Interesting that Gundlach envisioned his design with no air space at either end.

[Amedeus]

I don't believe Gundlach was targeting Petzval designs but rather more modern designs. Since it appears Gundlach patented his changing-distance-between-lensgroups prior to Deardorff, Deardorff claiming same for Petzval configuration would have been obvious for anyone skilled in the art ...


Interesting that Gundlach envisioned his design with no air space at either end.