Need Grubb Lens Expertise

[pgk]

For anyone interested in the Grubbs there is the book by Ian Glass: "Victorian Telescope Makers Te lives and letters of Thomas nd Howard Grubb", However only one out of 250+ pages refers to photographic lenses the rest being predominantly about the telescopes and other scientific instruments that the Grubbs were both famous for. Thomas Grubb seems to have been interested in photography by at least 1850ish but the 1866 contract for the Great Melbourne Telescope (worth a lot back then) seems to have been the factor which decided the future direction of business and from then on photographic lens production appears to have become somewhat sporadic, often probably bespoke, and astronomy's gain was photography's loss. The Grubbs may well have been 'instinctive' opticians with an understanding of what they were tying to achieve opticalyl allied with practical and precise engineering skills which enabled them to make things happen within the technial confines of the times they lived in.

[Ron (Netherlands)]

nr 3638 has been sold:https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/145010573...Bk9SR_TfjdbqYQ
together with a microscope tube?

[pgk]

The stereo lenses now seem to being climbing in price. I find them surprisingly good centrally although they quickly fall off in terms of resolution. One thing which helps is that the pillbox design minimises flare which can be a real problem in such early lenses, as the sample attached illustrates.

[Ron (Netherlands)]

The stereo lenses now seem to being climbing in price. I find them surprisingly good centrally although they quickly fall off in terms of resolution. One thing which helps is that the pillbox design minimises flare which can be a real problem in such early lenses, as the sample attached illustrates.

nice experiment!

[Willeica]

My latest Grubb lens, a Petzval type A2 CDV and Portrait lens, has arrived. It is No 2558. I suspect it may be from the late 1860s. It is generally in good condition, apart from having a bent pinion with no wheel, but the lens will move in and out. I see that, according to the Salomons ad, this lens was for CDV and 4x3 images. It did not come with any Waterhouse stops, even though it was originally supplied with 7 of them.

Grubb Salomon Advert 02.pdf


I have also been offered an article which Howard wrote in 1879 about stereoscopy. I am to get it on Monday and, if it contains anything of potential interest to members here, I will post it.

William

[Ron (Netherlands)]

My latest Grubb lens, a Petzval type A2 CDV and Portrait lens, has arrived. It is No 2558. I suspect it may be from the late 1860s. It is generally in good condition, apart from having a bent pinion with no wheel, but the lens will move in and out. I see that, according to the Salomons ad, this lens was for CDV and 4x3 images. It did not come with any Waterhouse stops, even though it was originally supplied with 7 of them.

Grubb Salomon Advert 02.pdf


I have also been offered an article which Howard wrote in 1879 about stereoscopy. I am to get it on Monday and, if it contains anything of potential interest to members here, I will post it.

William

Nice find! I would be interested to know the thread and diameter of the screws used in the pinion assembly and the length and diameter of the pinion.

[pgk]

Nice find! I would be interested to know the thread and diameter of the screws used in the pinion assembly and the length and diameter of the pinion.

I have a similar lens. I'll try to get around to measuring the threads (I have Whitworth thread guages and Grubb used Whitworth threads) and the pinion sizes when I get time and post details.

[Ron (Netherlands)]

I have a similar lens. I'll try to get around to measuring the threads (I have Whitworth thread guages and Grubb used Whitworth threads) and the pinion sizes when I get time and post details.

That would be great; thanks in advance

[pgk]

Hmmmm. Dug my copy out. The screws are different suggesting that they, or some of them, have been replaced. I will remove them and see if they share the same thread and if it is still a Whitworth thread!

[Willeica]

I am doing a large ongoing job, cataloguing and describing the camera and lens collection of the Photographic Society of Ireland, which was founded as the Dublin Photographic Society (PSI) in 1854. Thomas Grubb was a founder member and Secretary and Howard Grubb was later a President of the Society. Two Grubb lenses were previously described as being in the collection. Last week I came across one of them, which is No 3878, an Ax lens from the mid-late 1870s, which is mounted on a Sliding Box Camera from the 1850s/60s. No 3878 has better brass than No 3631, which is in my collection, but my one has glass which is in better condition. The lens in the PSI Collection came with 3 washer stops. The collection is in the National Photographic Archive which sits under the National Library of Ireland. The collection contains many other exceedingly rare items such as two Ives Kromskop stereo colour cameras from the 1890s. One of these is said to have the original manual with it.





William