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Antique brass lens of unknown origin - prize estimation
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 10:15 pm    Post subject: Antique brass lens of unknown origin - prize estimation Reply with quote
Hi, got this lens as a part of a certain transaction a couple of weeks ago and let it cleaned and polished a bit, apparently very old, worn, but still somehow lovely and functional looking item that (I believe) came from some late 19th century or early 20th century small German manufacture?

Of course I am able to use "Antique brass lens" etc. at Ebay search but never actually find the same (of course!), got lost a bit, so so many various types of various value. Anyone dare to make approx. prize estimation or at least tell me some interesting background story about? Thanks in advance.




Just for curiousity, I am about to sell this one too but in this case the value is rather clear.



PostPosted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 10:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Those unmarked early brass lenses are usually worth little as they are very common and there is no way of knowing where they were made - there were a great deal of small workshops in many countries of Europe.

Unless it has a maker's name from a prestigious maker, value is not much.


PostPosted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 10:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
A better look at the name of the brass lens could help identify it.
I read "..nigraphe".
So I guess its French.
There were quite a few French makers.
It could be a Darlot, which had a "planigraphe"

Its got a diaphragm, which makes it from the 1880's or later probably 1890's.


PostPosted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 10:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Here is a Meyer Weitwinkel Aristostigmat f-16cm
Pretty much the same as yours.
Sold in Croatia US$82

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Meyer-Gorlitz-Weitwinkel-Aristostigmat-1-9-F-16cm-/131566914433?hash=item1ea1ffcb81


PostPosted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 10:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Could possibly be: Clement & Gilmer, Paris (From the Planigraph)
http://www.earlyphotography.co.uk/site/entry_L26.html

Looks like your lens here:
http://photoschool.narod.ru/13x18.html


PostPosted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 5:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
luisalegria wrote:
It could be a Darlot, which had a "planigraphe" [...] Its got a diaphragm, which makes it from the 1880's or later probably 1890's.

You are right on the mark, Luis, as the regretted Rudolph Kingslake lists the Planigraphe in its book "A History of the Photographic Lens" as dating from 1895:



Note that Mr Kingslake considers the Planigraphe as an economic lens with a rather weird design.

Here's the optical formula of the Planigraphe (5 elements in two groups):



But then, who was this Turillon? I have found a report on this lens in a French book published in 1896: "LES NOUVEAUTÉS PHOTOGRAPHIQUES ANNÉE 1896" (Photographic Novelties of the Year 1896), which mentions its creator. Here's an approximate English translation:

Quote:
THE PLANIGRAPHE

I like to see that the success of the foreign lenses seems to drive our French manufacturers to stir a bit. It would not really harm. Thus Mr. Turillon, successor to Mr. Darlot, just built a new lens, called Planigraphe, which works well at a normal aperture of F/10. It may even, in many cases, be used at any aperture, that is to say F/8. Its plane of focus is deep enough to allow adequate flexibility in focusing. This is always valuable when it comes to choosing a lens for a hand camera. This is definitely one of the best French lenses that we have at the present time.

The Planigraphe indicated for 13x18 has a focal length of 0.17m and its cone of sharpness embraces an angle of 55°. However, I believe that for a very good job, we should not take the numbers indicated by the manufacturer which, in my opinion, are a bit extreme. In other words, for a 13x18 camera, it's better to take the reference listed for 18x24. This, because the focal lengths of these lenses are actually too short for a good rendering of perspective. Under the pretext, quite a bit misleading, of seeking lens speed above all, the focal length is reduced as much as possible. It would be far better to seek to keep the focal long and to increase the aperture. But in general, lenses are manufactured without a lot of calculations, with only relying on the hazards of manufacturing to match the curvatures of the elements and the refractive indices of the glass to the perspective lines of the image rendered. However, it is by very precise calculation that some foreign lenses owe their fame and their real superiority. Returning to the Planigraphe, I mounted a 18x24 lens on a 13x18 camera, and I had a focal length of about 0.23m which is about right for the 13x18 format. Images taken in these conditions exhibit a good performance perspective and harmony in colors. It is therefore a good lens to shoot everything outdoors.


In R. Kingslake's book, the notice about Darlot also mentions Turillon:



So Mr. Turillon, the creator of the Planigraphe, was the successor to Mr. Darlot. This may explain why there are Planigraphes that bear the name of Darlot, although Darlot had nothing to do with this lens and was already dead when the lens was launched:


Credit: Antiq-Photo

Here's a sample of the type of cameras that were equipped with the Planigraphe around the turn of the century:


Credit: Frederic C

Regarding Marek's lens, it is indeed an interesting piece of history. It won't be worth much money though, except if it bears somewhere the magical name of Darlot, which is to collectors like honey to bees...

Cheers!

Abbazz


PostPosted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 8:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thank you for loads of very detailed information! It is Darlot indeed Very Happy


PostPosted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 10:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Marek wrote:
Thank you for loads of very detailed information! It is Darlot indeed Very Happy

To be sure it is a Darlot you could check if the glass is signed, if dismantling it is not too difficult. Darlot used to sign their lenses.


PostPosted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 10:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
dan_ wrote:
Marek wrote:
Thank you for loads of very detailed information! It is Darlot indeed Very Happy

To be sure it is a Darlot you could check if the glass is signed, if dismantling it is not too difficult. Darlot used to sign their lenses.

Too late but thanks for the tip for the next time.
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