Help with old wollensack 8X10 lens and shutter

[koh303]

Recently traded a bunch of things, and ended up with a few couriosities, one of which is a:
"8X10 High grade Symmetrical" in a brass wollensak shutter.
Len is F8 (according to scale on shutter), can someone tell me what the focal length is?

Unfortunately, the aperture blades are oily and sticky, though they still work.
The shutter is completely inoperable, that is to say - i have not seen the shutter blades, ever.
The shutter cocks, and fires, mostly sounds correct, but no movement other then the levers moving.

Attachment 126012Attachment 126013

[cowanw]

Should be 12.5 inches both, 20 rear and 28.5 front

[koh303]

Thans bill.
Is it any good? Worth keeping?

[cowanw]

Well it is a favorite of mine. I believe it morphed into the Voltas series which I have always found to be a very nice and quite inexpensive (until after this thread) portrait lens. Soft definition, nice out of focus; the sort of things you might pay big money for.

[Keith Fleming]

If the engraving says it is a "symmetrical" lens, shouldn't the two lens cells be identical in focal length? I think this might be a rebadged Wollensak Versar.

Keith

[cowanw]

That crossed my mind but it is f8 and Voltas' are triple convertible.
I suspect the Royal Anastigmat became the Versar and the Rapid Symmetrical became the Voltas
But then I don't have any credentials!

[desertrat]

I have a lens identical to that, except it's marked for a third party supply company, "Ralph J. Golsen Supply Company", a major photographic goods retailer 100 years ago.

Mine is 12" combined focal length, both cells the same focal length. It also has only one aperture scale, like the lens shown above. I think it's a fairly decent lens, as RRs go. I posted an image of a closeup of some Walnut leaves made with it in the Paper Negatives thread. At f32 it's just a wee bit soft in the corners and edges, at f64 a contact print is pretty much indistinguishable from an anastigmat at a normal viewing distance.

The Royal Anastigmat later became the Velostigmat Series I. The Versar was an f6 extra rapid RR for portrait and landscape work and I don't think its name changed throughout its production life. I think the Voltas was a triple convertible RR and the Rapid Symmetrical may have been the same only earlier, but not sure on that one.

[cowanw]

Although according to the literature on Camera Eccentric both the Royal Anastigmat and the Versar had both elements of the same length, while the Velostigmat 1 has elements of different focal lengths.

[desertrat]

Although according to the literature on Camera Eccentric both the Royal Anastigmat and the Versar had both elements of the same length, while the Velostigmat 1 has elements of different focal lengths.

The later series I Velostigmats had different focal length cells, but both of mine are symmetrical, ie. not triple. If you look at the 1912-1913 catalog, It mentions the series I Velostigmat cells can be used individually, but there is no mention of different focal lengths, and only one aperture scale on the lens illustration. The triple convertible versions came later. The series I consists of 8 elements in 4 groups, whereas the Versar is 4 elements in 2 groups, like a RR only faster.

[cowanw]

Thanks