Euryscop II and Probable CC Harrsion radial drive lens found

[goamules]

I found a guy selling his dad's old camera equipment. We emailed for several days, it appeared he had a nice 14" Commercial Ektar. He also mentioned several other "no name" lenses, "with no marking." Two were brass. The pictures weren't clear, but it looked like a no name projector lens with the keyhole flange. And a clearly marked Euryscop II.

When I went to pick them up, I turned over the "projector" lens and instantly recognized it as an American radial drive, missing the knob. I collect these, and shoot them mostly in my wetplate work. I have most of the obscure makers, and have studied them for a lot of years. This one appears to me to be a CC Harrison, 10" petzval from 1849-1864. Several of the brass features, like the stepped flange, the very thick brass and more led me to this hypothesis. I was very happy that the glass was present. There was a pencil mark "ACW" or "ACM" on the edge of one glass, pretty unusual for American lenses. But the brass had been very deeply polished at some point, and I can't fathom the slightest bit of engraving (except maybe a script "C"). Still, it looks great on the ground glass.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5778/20976192684_881b1e5a0e_b.jpg

The Euryscop II is the rare type, but is missing the rear element. Looks nice, but a paperweight right now.

The 14" Ektar (I'm selling my 12" now, on this forum) is good, as is the B&L IC Tessar. Good to ask questions to sellers, always.

[Mark Sawyer]

A nice group of lenses! I suspect the Euryscop II will be too fast to use as a single-element convertible, but you'll have to try anyways. If only we knew the full history of our old lenses...

[Jim Galli]

The series II can be modified with any diopter that is about the correct width. It won't make it what it was, but it'll get the speed back and get it in a usable ball park for focal length, and usually results in very fine if slightly soft images.

[goamules]

Thanks Jim, maybe I'll hold it for a while. I was thinking of selling, to let someone else worry about finding the part.

[Tim Deming]

Euryskop Series II are pretty scarce, even compared to Series III, which are a lot less common than the run of the mill Series IV. Good luck in finding a correct element to fit. As Jim said, it might be a lot more realistic to adapt this with something else.

[goamules]

Like a pencil holder?

[Tin Can]

Good idea. I now have 2 pencil holders!

I keep hoping to find the missing elements.

erasers...

[goamules]

Imagine when someone who knows lenses (the random 1 out of 1,000,000 person) sees a Euryscop II lens on your desk! He'll think to himself, "man what a dummy, he probably unscrewed the end of that rare lens to put the pencils in it, and lost it..."

[Mark Sawyer]

The series II can be modified with any diopter that is about the correct width. It won't make it what it was, but it'll get the speed back and get it in a usable ball park for focal length, and usually results in very fine if slightly soft images.

Put the diopter up front, and the front doublet in back, and you'll have the same basic layout as a Verito!

[Jim Galli]

Put the diopter up front, and the front doublet in back, and you'll have the same basic layout as a Verito!

;) Same number of glasses but I think the Verito may have been fuzzier, like a single group from the front end of a petzval, an achromatic meniscus.

[Mark Sawyer]

It's always an experiment, eh Jim? Who knows, maybe it will give a wonderful effect, and a year from now we'll all be shooting or RR's with the front element replaced by a diopter! :rolleyes:

[Jim Galli]

It's always an experiment, eh Jim? Who knows, maybe it will give a wonderful effect, and a year from now we'll all be shooting or RR's with the front element replaced by a diopter! :rolleyes:

Shush Mark. I'm trying to get the price down! Actually Jim Fitzgerald has one he swears by. Same problem. Same fix.

[Tin Can]

Imagine when someone who knows lenses (the random 1 out of 1,000,000 person) sees a Euryscop II lens on your desk! He'll think to himself, "man what a dummy, he probably unscrewed the end of that rare lens to put the pencils in it, and lost it..."

I know what the 2 I have are. but somebody lost 1/2 of one and all glass from the other. I still need to hand sift a mountain of 'stuff' to see if the glass is 'saved' somewhere.

Occasionally I find almost the right thing, but then it's a glass blank and I am disappointed. The deceased owner also was making telescopes...

And you are right, I am passing right over other stuff I don't know enough about. I wrote one member here about the tiniest lens I ever saw, one guess who that was.

But I never toss anything...

So it goes.

[goamules]

Thanks to a friend, I found a correct radial drive knob for this American Petzval! Now, on to the hood....

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/737/22509718923_9bb3f57d7e_c.jpg

And yes, it's already being used, perhaps for the first time in generations:

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/723/23074959855_1e90f22abe_z.jpg

[Mark Sawyer]

Groovy!

[Jim Fitzgerald]

Shush Mark. I'm trying to get the price down! Actually Jim Fitzgerald has one he swears by. Same problem. Same fix.

Quiet, I'm not saying anything as I collect my stash!! I need to break out that 18" Voigtlander again.

[Jim Galli]

Shush Mark. I'm trying to get the price down! Actually Jim Fitzgerald has one he swears by. Same problem. Same fix.

Actually me and Garrett never got close on this one, and it would be a brilliant lens for some one. My hoard seems to be receding these days. Lenses, not Fords.

[Jim Fitzgerald]

I got lucky on that lens. Found an old glass diopter that fit perfect. I've thinned the heard a bit but like all of us many will go to the grave with me.

[goamules]

The Euryscop II is in good hands, and with someone who will very likely have access to the correct missing glass, soon. I would never have been able to fix it, so let it go.

Like Jim, I've moved some of my hobby out of lenses, and into other antiques. I've sold some very rare ones, like the Voigtlander 6B Quick Worker (huge F3.5 Petzval), and bought a 1958 Cardinal camper, for example. Got a lot of other neat antiques I can use now too. You can't use all the lenses at once. But I do keep growing my Radial Drive collection.

[Two23]

Early CC Harrison Petzvals had a square mount for the focus mechanism. My CCH lens has the square one and the serial dates it to 1851. So, yours has to be later than that if it's a CCH. As for the hood, might be able to find a machine shop to make one? I've been thinking of having SK Grimes make a rack & pinion gear & knob for my early Voigtlander Petzval, out of brass.


Kent in SD

[CCHarrison]

Here's what I have observed with Harrison lenses:

Serial Number to about 900 with Tangential (European) drive. 1849-51 +/1

#920 was observed with square radial drive as well serial numbers 1215, 1310, 1571 and 1669. Probably run to about 2000 or so. 1851-1853

Round radial drives show up around 2000. Not sure where exactly - havent observed too many.

"Fat Focus" round radial drive shows up around 2600 but regular round radial drives are also available at the same time. The "Fat Focus" version was a fine focusing type mechanism and ensured that there was also no "creep" in focus once set. These FF lenses are most often seen with serial numbers in the 2600-2900 range. A Patent was applied for but not granted for this feature.

Around serial # 5000 you start see some Harrison lenses with a straight profile from lens body right through the hood as opposed to the classic Trumpet look where the lens hood flares out. These "skinny lenses", I am almost certain were for stereo pairs. The thin profile was so the lenses didnt hit each other on the lensboard.