Hermagis Serial numbers Need your help with a database

[Barnet Mike]

Thank you for all your help, Steven. I'm still puzzled why my lens is badged as a No.4 - but hey, time to stop worrying and see if I can get an image from it. That may take a while!

[Steven Tribe]

And we have another extra rapid Petzval Series II from the first decade of the 20th Century. This time the longest version no.1.
This has 4” lenses and is a genuine 8x10” Petzval!
This is a Spanish based survivor from a known studio and it formed a pair with a similarly huge Voigtlander (Cooke triplet licensed) of exactly the same year, that a correspondent has acquired.
Added to the serial number/year made register.

[chris73]

As i am waiting for a 1930s folding camera to arrive, with a Hermagis lens nr.242764 that i guess is from around 1935(?) just after Som Berthiot took over (though no Berthiot on the lens), i was looking around for more information about Hermagis.

All that about the early Hermagis days gets too confusing. We can find even on later Hermagis catalogues 1845 or 1855, or...1854....
From the folowing clip of an 1856 (information gathered in 1855) almanac, both Derogy and Hermagis appear to work together as Wallet's successors.
So based on that and other information we can find around, if i have to guess, i would say that Hermagis went alone in 1855.
Any other thoughts?


https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bp...hermagis.zoom#

[Quentin]

Hello,

3 more lenses here.

- Hermagis N°38621, Objectif Portrait N°7, 129-186-04 writen on the lens (Missing rear ellement unfortunatly)
- Hermagis N°162748, Objectif Portrait Serie I N°4 bis, 29 writen on the lens
- Hermagis N°244190, Anastigmat Hellor 500mm F5.7, no marking on the lens. If someone know the production date of this lens, i'm interested. According to P&P (Dossier N°5, Page 24), the 500 5,7 only appeared on the 1933 catalogue. And they said 220000 is 1934. So It's probably something like 1935-1936, after the fusion with Berthiot, which will explain the abscence of marking on the lens.

[frommmm]

Hi guys, I've read most of this nice thread but still I've got a doubt. Can you recognize what focal lens are these 2? The first (longer) has a serial number 22657, the shorter 25844.

[Steven Tribe]

These are probably original with the travel camera - and in lovely condition! A normal and a wide angle Aplanat - perhaps with same sized mounting flange?
The spread of serial numbers could indicate that the lower number (standard) was selling a bit slower than the later serial number (wide-angle), OR the wide angle was a later addition to this travel set!
There should be some size numbers engraved?
And there were two parallel series of wide-angle aplanats/rectilinears!
I include extracts from the Hermagis booklet which show serial numbers close to yours and the various sizes available!