The lens is intended to remain fixed but had to be detached to fully clean both sides. The outside surfaces as received, were dirty and gentle attack with a cotton bud damp with lighter fluid had no effect at all. As a last resort a bud with tap water was tried which made the lens as good as new or at least as good as any Elmar type at 90 years old. It was just good old dust and nothing worse The Iris is smooth and multi bladed with a circular aperture. Having done this clean up, I produced a bright, sharp image of the frame on the base board rather than the foggy patch I started with. Turning to the bulb as supplied, was a 75 watt 210 volt Siemens opal bulb of a great age, the original had a smaller 60 watt bulb which I do have in stock. I suspect the 75 watt large bulb was a help in getting even illumination as the 'reflector' is matt black and the bulb holder cannot be adjusted.
Clues as to the model name are provided by the type of electrical connection and this one has no connection via the column, which is a simple and logical method. The later, more complex, internal systems are certainly stylish but can give some problems in maintenance. The second distinct feature of this model is the negative carrier, which was missing! but is in fact a hinged glass carrier made of two glass plates with a flexible material joining the glasses. The image size is determined by a cut out below the condenser so there is no need to make a mask but a card or red plastic foil will help prevent Newtons rings. I made my carrier out of two Durst AUDA 70 AN glasses but glass of good quality, perhaps in NEWLO finish, is not hard to find. Another source is old coated photo plates from which the coating can be removed with hot water. Needless to say the edges of all should be smoothed off or taped for safety of hands and film
Greatest problem so far has been the column which is of the 32mm size as expected for the time. The corrosion was unsightly rather than a real problem but I have have a bright, longer, column of the same size from a Valoy that I thought of using. In fact I could go up to the optional extra of a 1000mm column but problems arise from the intrusion of this into the projected frame. Column reflection can be an issue and a Leitz felt shield was available,which I have, but is not shown. I may settle for a coat of matt car spray paint on the original column which I have applied in other cases. This can be readily removed if a chance of re-plating at a reasonable price comes along.
One amusing oddity about this model is that the magic dimple that locates the upper and lower sections of the lamp house is found at the back of the lamp house rather than in plain view at the front! The lamp house is much smaller than that adopted for years of Valoy and Focomat machines that were to follow and the dimple is in the fixed lower half so that there is no doubt which way round is intended. The interior of the lamp house is matt black.
The wooden baseboard has posed rather a problem in that a thin plywood board was supplied with the machine. Obviously not original, this was removed and replaced with an early Focomat type from the 32mm column days, retaining the original column until some suitable timber is available.
I found that identification was aided by the illustrations in 'Leica Handbook' (Fritz Vith) Pub. Technisch-Padagogischer Wetzlar 1933 and the detailed history given by Dennis Laney in Leica Collectors Guide, 2nd Edition, Hove 2004. Strange to quote from the earlier book but it is quite often found in English in Leica Circles.
Now, the long awaited photographs of the enlarger -results from using the machine will follow.
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