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As regards what Watkins had, Tyler Green in 'Making the West American' mentions a 'cutting edge' Grubb C lens. I do, however, remember some mention of a Globe lens in connection with Watkins, but I...

I agree with everything that Paul (pgk) has said. An F or a G Grubb lens would have given the coverage necessary with focal lengths of 25" and 30 " respectively. The books about Watkins refer to a C...

I suppose we should stay quiet on the British/Irish thing as things are boiling up again in Northern Ireland, post Brexit. Thomas and Howard Grubb were both Irish and both were born and died in...

I agree generally with Steven's review, apart from his dismissal of Grubb's contribution, of course. I may see everything through 'Irish eyes', but I would not have bought the book without Grubb's...

My latest Grubb lens is an Aplanatic 12x10 No 5350, made by Howard Grubb in aluminium, and dating, I believe, from the 1890s. It has a diaphragm aperture control with the RPS scale f11.3 which was...

That is, of course, correct, Paul. The point I was trying to make is that Grubb lenses were not in my experience, I have 7 of them, made in standardised sizes. So, any fittings such as stops or...

Is 1560 a Petzval and does it have a Waterhouse stop slot? The only Grubb lens that I have with a Waterhouse stop slot and an actual original stop is an Aplanatic Doublet from the 1880s. 1560 is much...

If you want to use a Leitz Elmar with a 4x5 camera look out for the 10.5 cm Elmar with Compur shutter which was designed for the Nagel Recomar. It gives 4x5 coverage on my Intrepid, see photo below....

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This is an example of an engraving on Grubb Patent 2215 Patent Doublet from pgk's collection. He was unable to upload it himself. It is also shown here in a piece about my collection and...

Thanks Paul

My collection is as follows, Front Row from left to right 482 C Aplanatic, 582 C Aplanatic, 3631 Ax Aplanatic. Back Row from left to right 509 Aplanatic (slightly smaller than C) with...

This collection as presented is slightly less than two feet across, maybe 21 or 22 inches.

William

Here is my latest Grubb item a C Type Aplanatic No 582 with plain engraving or stamping. It does have the engraved 'Grubb Patent No 582' as proof of authenticity on the rim of the glass (poor photo...

I have now acquired Grubb Aplanatic C lens 4039.

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This means I now have the earliest and the latest, currently known, Aplanatic C lenses - 482 (unmarked but the same size lens) and 4039....

I agree with Paul's (pgk) assessment of the 770 and 2175 lenses. Paul has better eyesight than I have and there is, indeed, some engraving on 770. It has a very dark colour like my 482, which I...

A couple of unusual Grubb lenses at auction.

770 looks like an Aplanatic, but is said to be achromatic portrait f5.5, obviously added much later as f stops, as we know them, did not exist in the...

My other 4 Grubb lenses, all Aplanatics from the 1850s and 1860s. From left to right, they are C 482, prob C 509 helicoid, D 2591 and Ax 3631.

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William

The latest addition to my collection, 5045 Howard Grubb/Watson Aplanatic Doublet from the 1880s, arrived today. It is very similar to 5046 which was mentioned already in this thread. It came with a...

I would be interested to see what any advertisement from 1859 says about C lenses. I have both 482 and 509, Aplanatics from the 1850s, both about C size. The former is Grubb portable mount, whereas...

Paul (pgk) and I have an advertisement for Grubb lenses which carries similar references to Mr Bedford etc. This also carries the address of his home 141 Leinster Road, Rathmines, Dublin. Thomas...

Thanks Steven. This more or less reflects what Rudolf Kingslake said in his later book ' A History of the Photographic Lens'. What would really assist with these issues would be some sight of the...

My 4th Grubb lens. No 482 and probably a C Aplanatic. Unlike my other Grubb lenses, this one appears to be stamped on the barrel rather than engraved, but it does have Dublin on it. It does seem to...

Could be true, Paul, but the later lenses look quite different to the early ones, so if Howard was shifting old stock it was probably the lens elements rather than completed lenses.

William

Two more to add. 1503 which is an A3 Petzval and is used by its owner (from Rathmines Dublin, near where the Grubbs had their telescope factory) to do lovely wet plate portraits on a Calumet C-1....

No 264 sold at auction for €1,000, probably at least €1200 with commission. That must be the record for a Grubb Aplanatic. I obtained 509, which is very similar to 264, for much less than this. As...

Lady Rosse was presumably Mary Rosse the wife of William Parsons the Earl of Rosse and famous astronomer who was helped by Thomas Grubb in respect of the castings for his giant telescope at Birr....

All 3 of my Grubb lenses have the engraving and so far I can confirm that 509 has that number engraved along with 'Grubb Patent'. I need a stronger loupe to confirm the other two, but they both have...

Thanks Paul for all the work involved in this. I am the proud 'new owner' of D lens No 2591 (joining 509 and 3631 in my collection - see attached photo) and which came marked with f stop 14.4 plus 3...

I have prepared an updated version of my Grubb and Parsons article, using Grubb lenses owned by myself and Paul (pgk). It will appear in the magazine of the Photographic Collectors Club of Great...

Grubb 1858 address to RDS

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William

Paul (PGK) and I have been in touch about various Grubb details. I'll try to throw in some details to provide context from a Dublin perspective. The advertisement above which carries the address 141...

In my earlier post, '1975' should read '1875'.

William

Howard would have pretty much taken over the business before his father died, having joined the firm in 1864. I think that the Great Melbourne Telescope was a turning point as regards Astronomy. My...

I am based in Dublin and have written this article about Grubb family and their later lens making relationship with the Parsons family.
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