Deardorff: "New" vs Old?

[Drew Bedo]

How can an older Chicago era Deardorff be told apart from one of the new series put together by the outfit that bought the company?

Are they different in any way?

Should I care?

[Kevin Crisp]

The Chicago ones were delivered?

[Luis-F-S]

How can an older Chicago era Deardorff be told apart from one of the new series put together by the outfit that bought the company?

Are they different in any way?

Should I care?

They should say either Chicago IL or Athens TN some don’t say either then it depends on the hardware. Chicago have aluminum knobs TN may have stainless steel but as long as the fit is good it doesn’t really matte where it was made.

[Kevin Crisp]

If the TN ones were Jack Deardorff Photographic Products I tried one out and the quality was excellent.

[Duolab123]

My V8 is pre-war. Works great. I paid $700 for it, a decent Wollensak lens in Packard shutter, and a couple carriers. New ones are virtually identical in form, and they're beautiful and shiny.

[Tin Can]

There were many copies, some authorized, TN was authorized by purchase of rights

I think some were made in Japan also

[Drew Bedo]

Yeah . . .I understand that design and functionality are what matters to a "shooter ". . .I consider myself to be a shooter.

However, going forward, there will become a time when the origin of a camera will matter to a collector. Think of the Leicas made in Canedsa. To some folks that makes a difference.

I was hoping to get some information out there before we all encounter life's event horizon and its all forgotten.

[RichardRitter]

The camera made down south had parts made with stainless steel. Deardorffs made in Chicago had no stainless steel. Part were nickel plated.

[Greg]

The one that I once owned and used was put together with refinished original wood but some of the metal parts definitely not original or NOS replacement parts. Side by side with a 100% original Deardorff, you could see the slight differences, but in practice the one I had and used never let me down. The seller was open about all of this to me at the time of the sale, and thus the selling price was appropriately lowered. On the other hand, over the years I have come across one or two which were described as "excellent plus", but in fact were very worn out from many years of heavy use. I'd also stay away from DIY restored cameras.

[Steven Tribe]

Here is example of a post Deardorff item (Jack Deardorff Photographic Products -DPPI Indiana).4x5 back for the 5x7 Special. OK build with stainless steel.