Linhof Branded Prontor-S shutter mystery...

[Embdude]

Anyone familiar with Linhof using a chrome Linhof branded Prontor-S shutter on the Technika III 4x5 around 1950?

1950 was the first year chrome Linhof branded shutters appeared, and I have only ever seen them done in Compur shutters until now...

Recently I saw a 90mm Angulon in a Linhof labeled Prontor shutter.

It is in chrome and Linhof changed to black paint with the 1963 intro of the 4x5 V.

The Angulon SN dates it to 1950-51.

I searched around and found another Angulon in the same style shutter. So it seems to be legitimate.

I cant find any official Linhof reference to Prontor shutters until the mid 1970’s when Linhof began using the Prontor Electric shutters.

[Mark Sampson]

Germany was still recovering from WWII in 1950, there were probably "supply-chain issues", and Linhof likely used what they could find.

[Embdude]

Well the plot thickens a little bit... I have spotted Prontor II shutters (Nearly identical model that the S replaced) on late 1940's Technikas with the 90mm Angulon. So for whatever reason from 1948-51 Linhof appears to have used both Compur and Prontor shutters for the 90mm Angulon lens...

[jnantz]

people have been re-shuttering lenses since dry plates were invented (and shutters were actually needed).
my poor but educated guess is that this lens (that isn't a linhof select lens) was remounted in some shutter that was cobbled together by
a repair tech from spare parts he or she had lying around probably not so long ago.

[Embdude]

Germany was still recovering from WWII in 1950, there were probably "supply-chain issues", and Linhof likely used what they could find.

Yep it would appear Prontor stepped in to cover the size 0 shutter production in 1949 & 1950

[Embdude]

people have been re-shuttering lenses since dry plates were invented (and shutters were actually needed).
my poor but educated guess is that this lens (that isn't a linhof select lens) was remounted in some shutter that was cobbled together by
a repair tech from spare parts he or she had lying around probably not so long ago.

That is what I thought at first myself but after finding about 10 examples of the LINHOF emblazoned Prontor-S and also finding several prontor II shutters on the 1949 vintage cameras I am more inclined to believe Prontor did in fact step in to cover size 0 shutters from 1949-1950.

[Embdude]

Also identified another little nugget, based on lens serial numbers I have determined that the first year or so of the chrome Linhof emblazoned shutters (1950-51) the text and trim lines were in black. By 1953 the LINHOF text was in red up till the style changed from chrome to black in 1963…

The Prontors all have black text and trim and the Angulons in Compur 0 appear to only be in red text. I have found larger Compur shutters in black text but not the Compur 0 for the Angulon, so it would seem Prontor took over during these years rather than competed with the Compur 0.

[Paul Ewins]

The Linhof specific branding on Schneider lenses, i.e. Technika-Angulon or Technika-Symmar didn't start until mid 1956, so there is no reason why these couldn't have been cells supplied by Schneider and placed in the shutter by Linhof, or the shutters supplied by Linhof to Schneider. The production notes for both lenses have no extra information so it was probably just a part of a batch. Prior to 1956 the only things marked as being produced specifically for Linhof are the Press-Xenar and a universal viewfinder.

[Embdude]

The Linhof specific branding on Schneider lenses, i.e. Technika-Angulon or Technika-Symmar didn't start until mid 1956, so there is no reason why these couldn't have been cells supplied by Schneider and placed in the shutter by Linhof, or the shutters supplied by Linhof to Schneider. The production notes for both lenses have no extra information so it was probably just a part of a batch. Prior to 1956 the only things marked as being produced specifically for Linhof are the Press-Xenar and a universal viewfinder.

Thanks Paul, you seem to have much more specifics than I do about the Schneider lenses. I have based my research off the sn# chart in the original post so if the dates are off on that so is my research.

1957 was the Linhof 70th anniversary, and as was common for Linhof, new models were introduced and others were updated. The Technika III was retired and the Technika IV series began. The IV 4x5 was a new design, the 5x7 & 6x9 model saw minor improvements and bold cosmetic changes. This is when the name TECHNIKA (in red block letters) began appearing in the lens beauty rings alongside the the make and model.

Prior to 1957 the Linhof script logo was engraved in red on the Schneider supplied lenses (this came later for Zeiss and Voigtlander and even later for Rodenstock). The red script logo appears on the Tele Xenar first c1951 and later for the Xenar and Angulon types c1953 (not sure about the Xenotars).

The chrome Compur & Prontor shutters emblazoned with LINHOF arrived in 1950 and were originally in black letters for about a year and then red.(only black for the prontors and only with the 90 Angulon, the Prontor were gone by 1952) I have not found the red script logo on any of the lenses in black text type shutters.

1957 was a big year for Linhof and lenses were commissioned from Zeiss, Voigtlander, Rodenstock and most likely Schneider. I would be very interested to know which lenses were specifically commissioned by Linhof if you have that info handy.

Here are a few images to illustrate the info I gave:

A good image of the LINHOF emblazoned shutter from a 1950 Linhof Press flyer...

A 1952 Tele Xenar lens 3145538 with the engraved script logo. The larger lenses did not get chrome LINHOF emblazoned shutters at first, and the really big 5x7 lenses remained in stock compound shutters for a decade or two.

A 1953 Tele Xenar lens 3465536 with the engraved script in a red lettered Compur shutter.

A 1958 Xenar with the TECHNIKA brand name in the beauty ring.

[Embdude]

On cue KEH has a 90 Angulon with black paint letters for sale… so either the Linhof labeled Prontor shutter had a very short life (1950 if even a whole year) or both companies were supplying the size 0 shutters at the same time.

https://www.keh.com/shop/90-f6-8-ang...x5-lens-1.html

2500516 sn# puts it at first half of 1951…