Gandolfi or not Gandolfi?

[Emil Schildt]

interesting item on the bay...

Says Gandolfi, but I am almost sure it isn't...

Any experts out there?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Item number: 270789657637

[edp]

It's a Watson Acme, like mine.

The front standard is what gives it away: The attachment that holds it on at the bottom, and the rise/fall clip.

It's a fine camera, its main flaw being that the lensboard is small. Compur size 1 shutter is the biggest that will fit on the lensboard, and the hole behind the lensboard is small too: the biggest lens I have that will fit on is the Fujinon f/6.3 250, which has a rear element significantly smaller than the front element.

[Emil Schildt]

New question:

Gandolfi or not:

very similar cameras:

The top one is a Gandolfi Universal

the bottom one?

Gandolfi or just similar? (the base is rather different)

[Tim Meisburger]

I have no idea, but it is interesting to see frame and panel construction. That's why the top one is split and the bottom not. Lovely.

[Steven Tribe]

I know that Emil is not going to like this but...

The craftmanship we associate with Gandolfi was matched by many early UK camera makers. The only reason why "Gandolfi" has become a legend is that they continued as an independent firm for such a long time.

I can think of an analogy from the motor industry (that was!) in the UK. Morgan of Malvern still produce a wooden framed sportscar. Morgan were never the best engineered or best assembled of this kind of car but achieved a status when all the other manufacturers were bought up or went bust.

[Emil Schildt]

I know that Emil is not going to like this but...

The craftmanship we associate with Gandolfi was matched by many early UK camera makers. The only reason why "Gandolfi" has become a legend is that they continued as an independent firm for such a long time.

.

I am not discussing craftmanship - I am just asking whether these two are both Gandolfi's or not... I have seen loads of other very fine English made cameras, no question, but they are not for me to collect (neither have the money or the space)

[cjbroadbent]

From the 1911 Almanac. "As supplied to the War Department"
(I'm still alive, but busy with a Leica)

[IanG]

The problem is that the basic design of this type of camera isn't unique to Gandolfi, and some brass fittings used are common to a number of different manufacturers.

Interestingly going through old BJP Almanacs there's no second hand Gandolfi's listed 25 years after the company was founded and it's known that they had contracts to make cameras for other companies which would seem to be the lions share of their business at the time. In later years (post WWII) Gandolfi were making the Watson Premier and Acme cameras up until Watsons closure.

There must have been other small sub-contractors making similar cameras, or employees of larger companies attempting to set up manufacture themselves. To complicate things further a company called Lonsdale Bros with premises in London and Leeds were photographic engineers & wholesale camera manufacturers. Apart from specialising in brass work they also supplied cameras in kit form or ready built, their camera "The Practical" is very similar to the Gandolfi Universal and the Watson Premier.

Ian

[Ole Tjugen]

I would say "similar". There are too many differences in the construction, even the brass parts are different.

[Jonathan Barlow]

The bottom camera in gandolfi's photo certainly very closely resembles "The Universal Camera (as supplied to the British War Office)" in the old advertisement.