Looking for a 5x7 on fleabay when I came across this camera (item 223476836639) with the Cooke lens attached. Seller says lens is 8.5in, f4.5, series III. Such a lens seems to come from a casket set, the front element in photo by itself is an extension and looks to be inscribed 13in. Nothing in the photos of the lens suggests it is a Cooke. Shutter looks newer than the lens. Just curious, do we think it a Cooke or not?
I'd go along with it being a genuine Cooke. The Series III isn't a particularly desirable Cooke, being a slower (usually f/6.5) general-use lens, though in my experience they perform well. The extension lens replaces the rear lens to make about a 50% longer lens, so a Series III and an Extension Lens would give you two focal lengths, as indicated on the aperture scale. So it's not necessarily from a casket set.
If someone were to counterfeit a Cooke, that wouldn't be the one to bother with...
"I love my Verito lens, but I always have to sharpen everything in Photoshop..."
It looks a Cooke (of York) design manufactured under license by Taylor,Taylor&Hobson (of Leicester) , Taylor can also be read in the oposite side.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taylor_Hobson
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