The State of the nation- January 1946

Following the gloomy posts in the past when our Circle closed for 'the duration' comes a newly discovered report from Miniature Camera Magazine for January 1946 picking up the pieces that remain after six years of relative inactivity.  Interesting to note that just like B.B.C. TV,   the Circles resume precisely where they left off in 1939!  ( Actually a bit of Urban myth- the website http://www.teletronic.co.uk/bbcclosedown.htm will recall the correct version.)

Our Society was back in the swing of Saturday gatherings in London again open to all but a new trend of 'serious photography' in a London showing much evidence of  Wartime damage.  The full notice is reproduced below and it only remains for me to draw your attention,

again, to the meetings based on LCE, Bristol  which commenced in 2017  ( Yes, 71 years later!)  given publicity in a recent Blog here. Sorry about the rather poor original which forced me to reverse the scan.

Unusual lens container-HELP

This post is little different from the usual themes of the Blog in that a response is sought from anyone who can shed light on the container illustrated in the following pictures.  This is of a Bakelite lens pot rather similar to recent Russian products.  The item is marked Ernst Leitz Wetzlar Germany and on the base 9cm Elmar.  However it has been tried with eleven examples of this lens and all are just too long to fit.  It may be that it was offered for a very early lens of non standard length and lacking a r/f ring but this is not available for testing.

Any help would be much appreciated, and in the event that 'Comment' does not work just email to paulblanchardlppo6@gmail.net. UPDATE July 2017: Another of these has appeared on Ebay at 99.99 or offers.
It is likely that this one shown ,and a 50mm version,may appear at SAS of Newbury in a future auction.

A Big book in many ways-Rudolf Pestalozzi, 1882-1961

For some years I have owned a copy of 'A Leica Amateurs Picture Book' by Rudolf Pestalozzi, a large publication in more ways than one.  In measure 32cm x 25cm this was published in the UK by Fountain Press in 1935 using illustrations printed  by Gebr. Fretz A.G. of Zurich.  To simply commend the quality of the production is not enough.  The whole is produced on matt paper in a way that really complements the Leica negatives and obviously a lot of expensive work went into it's preparation.  Examination of the images under a powerful lens seems to suggest gravure printing which is an excellent, and surprising, choice for 160 pages.  It elevates the work of this most gifted Amateur to that of the likes of Dr Wolff, a contemporary worker.

Reading the brief notes it is a surprise to learn the the author has just four years experience with the Leica and while he owns a Leica 111/ Summar at the time he is writing, the majority of the prints were produced with the 50mm and 90mm Elmar.  He commends the photo electric exposure meter and the Universal viewfinder but little beyond that and his equipment was not extensive.

Regarding subjects he has travelled to all parts of Europe in gathering a wide selection of subjects. All involve an original interpretation of his subjects, except a few portraits which I would judge to be personal souvenirs.  A notable exception is an available light portrait of Karl Barth as a far younger man to the usual portraits of the theologian in old age.  This makes good use of the 90 mm lens.( 1sec f6.3-Tripod)

Obviously well connected and able to roam freely across the Continent before the build up to World War Two,  Pestalozzi was a member of the well known Zurich Steel company of the same name,   His work continued after the war in more specific travel photography.

I would go as far as to say that most of his work would take a Prize at the Leica Society this year if it could be presented printed in the manner of this book!

I do not think it fair to 'lift' a print from the book but if you can get hold of a copy you will not be disappointed.

Back to the future-LPP photo walk

Truly in the spirit of the founding fathers of LPP the following notice is worthy of the widest distribution  among Leica enthusiasts in striking distance! 

                                                    Monthly Leica meets in Bristol.
London Camera Exchange Bristol (Baldwin Street) will be hosting a monthly social meet and photo walk, named Bristol Leica Social. The first meeting will be on April 1st, 2017, and on the first Saturday of every month thereafter. 
Each meet will start at the store, at 9am, (3 Alliance House, Baldwin Street, BS1 1SA) then divide into smaller groups for a photo walk around the centre, meeting at a café at 12 noon to compare images and, of course, discuss all things Leica.
For more information please contact LCE on 0117 929 1935. Please note that there are two branches of London Camera Exchange in Bristol. The Leica specialist Baldwin Street branch is near the Waterfront area of the city.

Six foot Leica for sale-$250 million (O.N.O.?)

No picture with this one as it's illustrated across two pages of  The Times (London) supplement today, 18.2.17.  Go out and buy a copy this morning.  At 924 Bel Air Road, Hollywood is a house with an enormous 'Leica' reproduction which could appear to be a bar or a piece of furniture,  However what is most interesting is the model used by the maker.  The body obviously has a battery cover from the M6/M7 but also a front slow speed dial. There is an angled rewind as in later M cameras but above all... the lens,  clearly marked f2.0 5cm Summar but the serial number is unclear (last made 1940) Very strange.  A rather nice house is included in the asking price.

Mystery Solved !

In my Blog dated 8th February I made reference to the unusual viewfinder used by Mr Herbert in the small photograph which I added.  I am pleased to say that I have traced what I think is the finder in a copy of Leica Illustrated Guide 11 by the famous James L. Lager published by Morgan and Morgan in 1978.( Page 125-first printing)

The finder is lacking in any number or Code Word but resembles a squashed plastic cup formed into a rectangular shape at the front.  The model illustrated has a cross wire and bead, possibly for aerial photography, but no reference is made to this part in a railway context and,  quite frankly, the addition of the wire looks rather a home made adaptation unworthy of Leitz.  It bears the usual Leitz trade mark and is engraved '5cm'. There are no optical parts.  It is shoe mounted and no doubt could be replicated in plastic card if one really thought it a good idea.

Given the rarity and the fact it was never marketed no doubt this finder came over from Germany after the War, I have never seen one in the U.K., beyond this photograph.

A rather unusual activity in London- 1938

In April 1938 a rather special event took place in London, In fact, the second celebration of a 'rather unusual event' for L.P.P. circles.Already Club activities of a far from solitary nature had suggested that this was a group of Print Circles where activity took place on both the home postal basis and as a parallel activity there were group meetings, at that time often in and around London. In retrospect these latter meeting seem to have taken place at a fairly frantic pace in the few years prior to the closure of the Circles during WW11.

The event I am highlighting today was organised by none other than C.C.B. Herbert the then Secretary of Circle 1( Later to achieve senior posts in the Circles and become Chairman/President)) who had proposed a treasure hunt in Central London in the April edition of Miniature Camera Magazine. About 40 Leica users gathered at Nelson's Column on Sunday April 24th to scour the West End for pictures taken in three groups- Named subjects, Titles and, lastly, objects, later producing prints from the negatives. Just to keep all above board the last shot on the roll-limited to a 36 exposure film- was a communal photo shoot of the date board on the gate of St Georges Hospital! The judge was Percy W. Harris and the day was voted a success. The contemporary press report below reveals an atmosphere which is rather dated, but it was almost 80 years ago. In other places are recorded such delights as a joint walk in London on Saturday afternoon and even a night photography session planned to last all night with a break to allow those leaving to catch the last trains!


I am delighted to detect a movement toward such joint activities in the past few years, even if conducted at 'decent' hours. Quite apart from the generous hospitality extended by Leica at Bruton Place and Annual weekends there have been informal groups meeting for 'days out' in the provinces and Circles have not hesitated to join up for quarterly lunches in the Country and for group visits. One concludes that the only solitary activity in Postal Circles is dealing with the circulating folios.


I cannot close without noting that the page filler on Mimosa film at the end of the article is also by Mr Herbert whose contribution in those days, and for some 30 years as President in post war days was tremendous for 51 years in all.

Footnote.
At the time of writing(2017) the L.N.E.R. Railway Society are cataloging the rail archive of negatives by C.C.B.Herbert. This amounts to some 16000 negatives and 2600 prints.

Just what I was looking for? ....Unlikely

I came across the card shown below in some Leica literature and thought it was in good enough condition to add to this Blog. Most of these are worn out and so you have to find the data in a Leica guide or early catalogue. The likelihood of actually needing the data is, sadly, rather low.

For those among us who prefer the screw mount Leica the following may help:

Unusual Series Filter -Series 7.5

I recently came across an filter that rarely crops up in Leica circles. As it only fits the Apo-Telyt-R 180mm f5.6 lens that is hardly surprising as there are not many of those on the second hand market. It is claimed that this lens was designed at the request of the US Military and was the first APO long lens than Leitz brought to the market, being produced in two versions between 1975 and 1998.  In the later versions an E60 filter came into use, and this is fairly easily obtained. Any Series 7.5 glass is rare indeed as it is claimed that it was never put into production by Leitz on the grounds that the lens was intended for use without a filter! This size was obtainable from B & W  of Wiesbaden,  probably on a 'made to order' basis.The present specimen is in fine condition and only leaves me looking for the lens to fit it to! It is type 010-a simple UV filter.

The question of 'odd' steps in Series filters is rather strange as they seem to have been designed well into the age of metric screw fittings. First there was the Series 5.5 filter which was a real oddity sold for the accessory lenses on the Leica CL lenses, the( German) Elmar-C 90mm,  the Elmarit 40mm, and the 40mm Summicron. The Japanese demonstrated that a metric filter in 40.5mm was perfectly acceptable. There was also a Leica Series 8.5 filter used inside the lens hood of the Super-Angulon 21mm where a very slim filter rim had obvious advantages. It also was used by Beaulieu cine cameras.

This is the B & W effort-:

 And,a magnified view of the makers engraving-;

80 Years on.......

On 16th January 1936 we lost Oskar Barnack at the young age of 57. Twenty-five years after joining Ernst Leitz and thirteen years after the Leica came to the market.

Leica-The Royal Connection

No doubt the ardent Leica user will be aware of the above postage stamps which go back some years-about 30 actually. The point of interest is the central photograph on the top left and lower right stamps showing H.M.The Queen with a Leica-looks like a M3 with one of the early(and most reliable) meters on top. Rather a good selection, in fact a gift engraved at the factory.  Her father bought a  'Purma' at the the British Industries Fair to use in Canada shortly before the war !

Thoughts of the Royal Family continue and in running through what I can add I recalled the film of H.M. George VI using what appears to be a 16mm Cine camera in the palace gardens. I sought, without success, for a Leica moment but all I have come up with is the following quote from H.M. The King at the British Industries Fair 1937-:

                                              "I am a miniature camera enthusiast"

Possibly this enthusiasm was reinforced by his  dealings with James Jarche and the excellent reception given to the exhibition of 5ft x 4ft enlargements of the May Coronation taken with a Hektor 135mm lens. James Jarche also attended the Royal Tournament and Spithead with his Leica and the results were reproduced widely.Agfa film was used and the Coronation photographs appeared in Agfa advertising.

(Source-Miniature Camera World  No. 4 vol. 1  March 1937.)
(Leica News and Technique No.27 May-June 1937)

On the other hand the ground is rather more fertile in the case of his brother, H.R.H. The Duke of Windsor.Here where we can provide an illustration,

Schonbrun,Vienna Feb 1935?  (L,N&T March 1935)

Revealing Price List from 1950

I was recently given a bound volume of Magazines issued by Wallace Heaton of 127 Bond Street W.1 -and sundry other places-during the post war years. Many of the treasures offered in new goods were of a strictly utilitarian nature and designed to make up for the absence of the real thing from Europe. Cine was of great interest and the Leica owner is encouraged to consider 16mm silent film as anything smaller was considered unlikely to give satisfaction! Colour was in a state of transfer from the old mechanical tri-colour processes to Agfa Negative film then becoming available. Little mention is made of (imported) Kodak goods- no doubt in the National Interest. Wallace Heaton were after all the Royal snapshot handlers.

However,some quality cameras were on offer, price controls on second - hand sales had just ended, The list I have reproduced here contains some interesting contrasts . It might be noticed that the older Leica goods have appreciated considerably over the 66 years since, but the more recent cameras listed have increased rather less in price. The Company continued until, I think, the 1970's when it was taken over by Dixons,at its peak in the 1950's they had employed 350 staff in a wide range of departments and expanded to a few sites outside London. For friendly service they were superb with an old fashioned atmosphere -and a first class second hand department in Avery row at the back of Bond Street. Coating of uncoated lenses was offered at 7/6, the equivalent of 37.5p in Decimal currency, for each air surface!

Rollei RPX 25 film-some afterthoughts

I published a lengthy note on the results achieved from this most promising (newish) emulsion some months ago. I say (newish) in parentheses as some writers have suggested that what we have is Pan F in a slightly tweaked form. However, the chief criticism of that emulsion was the poor reaction of the latent image to storage prior to processing. Not a point that will concern most users unless one makes a habit of having Father Christmas at frame 1 and 36 with the summer holidays in between as some were forced to do in the early days of Kodachrome imports!

I have just processed two films exposed during a visit to Ireland during last summer and put on one side. No ill effects could be detected at all. I also processed them, in a slightly different manner to the results reported in my previous Blog which resulted in rather high contrast and the loss of highlight detail. I gave the  latest two films 6.5 mins at 20 degrees C in FX-39 which produced a slight reduction in contrast over the 8 mins that appears in many places. I have come to the conclusion that the camera/lens used has a bearing on all this contrast. I used a Leitz Summicron  50mm f2.0 lens (one of the Canadian ones) at f5.6 in most cases. Exposure was set by the R4s averaging meter. I would guess,without real evidence,that the resultant contrast will be far higher than results from many of the old and possibly uncoated lenses recorded in this Blog which have been used in the past. Logically, the next step is to use Rollei RPX 25 in a Leica 1 with the original lens and see what the results are like. I have chosen an old body to try to eliminate any distortion of the results by internal reflection or lack of this but could put the old lens on a M body- Watch this space!

Latest Leica arrives- from Santa

On December 13th I published an extract from a Mail Order catalog that contained what was destined to become the hottest Christmas gift item in the world of Leica enthusiasts and camera collectors.I speak,of course, of the Leica M3 tin of Humbugs which seems to have fallen in price since my last post and which has,quite erroneously, been called a P***** in several parts of the press. Little did I know that I would receive one of these in my Christmas stocking (forget the red tricycle!) and this has permitted a fuller analysis of the reproduction of our favourite camera in some detail.

The Body is numbered 779068 which must exist somewhere accessible to the designer as it is a 1956 serial matched with non mathematical speed markings on the speed dial which is correct up to serial No.854001 and it would have had double wind, unless converted. as below 915251. A good attempt is made to reproduce all of the external features, except the lens, which gives rise to some interesting points.

Judged as a copy the lens is rather attractive and has a most conventional mount that, had it appeared in 1955, would have been accepted as a streamlined improvement. However the designer of this copy was given free range with his choice of markings where the iris is marked f5.6 down to f45! Likewise in the choice of shutter speeds(ON THE LENS!) these are 500 down to B when they change to green and go to 125 seconds in the manner of later Synchro-Compur shutters. Similarly, the lens has 'moving' red depth of field tabs in the style seen, for example, on Hasselblad shutters of a certain age. The synchro post is reproduced alongside the letters VXM but the fp and electronic sockets are shown on the back of the top plate- in the right place .Hidden away on the lens are the words Made in West Germany and a Compur code for the speed scale and light values. I can only assume that a Leica lens was not available and detail has been taken from a leaf shutter lens of the period.

All in all an incredible amount of detail is shown on what is, after all, a sweet tin selling at about £7.99-with edible sweets inside- and a real effort has been made to introduce a high degree of realism. The names on the top plate have been altered which I assume is to keep on the right side of Leitz but the mystery remains as to why advertise it as a P*****?A few more pictures follow.

A Happy Christmas to all our readers! -1937 style.

From the days when Christmas included Snow! These covers from the 'MCM' of December 1937 and January 1938 would have served to take one's mind off the bombing of Barcelona and the war in China, for a few minutes at least. The new King made his first Christmas address over the Wireless.

Looking back on 1937, he noted the "shadows of enmity and of fear" hanging over parts of the world and expressed his hope that the spirit of peace and goodwill shall prevail.



Nothing changes.     Happy Christmas All!

Don't see many of these-replaces a bit of black paper!

The subject of today's ramblings is shown below and this one has a rather chequered background, I acquired the item some years ago and it is a spring steel half moon cover that snaps onto the 32mm column of the Valoy 1 enlarger. The covering is dead matt felt both sides. It can be fitted to any 32mm column- provided that you are making prints that send the head up by 40cms, plus the depth of the column foot. I gather from some authorities that it originally came with the Valoy 1 and quickly located the head at a height that gave a full frame 8x10 print. I am more inclined to suggest that it's main use is in limiting reflection of light from the bright metal columns beloved of Leitz. The use of  the R word (Rare) is far too frequent in Leica literature,but I have never seen another, nor an illustration.

In the magnificent book Leica Collectors Guide (Hove-1994 edn.) on page 324 is listed an item with the code word  VIPRO which is a New York item described as Light Protection Tube for the Focomat 1b but, if used in the way described, the tube is longer than the baseboard to split pin distance on a Focomat. However,the spillage of stray light may have been negligible at low positions of the head.

M2 for comparison of size only!

Leica ? -Christmas Present-Suggestions Dept

A Leica for £9.99!  Just the overall size of the M3 in front of me and now available at your favourite Sweet Shop, and by Mail Order.Sorry they called it a P*****

Leica Society Day at Bruton Place

The Hon. President in discussion with Members at the buffet lunch kindly provided by Leica in the Lecture Theatre. A full selection of products was on display and available for trial in the mini-studio. All present were encouraged to try the  instant camera now available under the Leica name which produced colour prints about 6x4.5 cms which takes one back to contact prints of many years ago!  I was delighted to learn that a Black and White 'emulsion' is available which has been a sadly neglected area of SX type packs available here in the past, although it has been seen in Japan for some years. At the risk of derision here are the three prints I came away with-

I think I should avoid distant subjects such as landscapes and bear in mind the limits of the flash in poor lighting but sharpness was evident and for an instant print there is nothing quite so small and convenient.

.

Spitalfields Life-Photojournalism Lives.The Legacy of Colin O'Brien

At the suggestion of a friend I have been prompted to make a formal reference to the work of Colin O'Brien as Contributing Photographer on the Spitalfields Life site, http://spitalfieldslife.com/ where a search in past postings-which are almost daily-will reveal a massive back catalogue of work by the late Colin . Quite apart from the photographic quality the site contains in excess of 30,000 illustrations which will contain,I guarantee,much of interest. Above all it contains PEOPLE and excels at the environmental portrait.(Catch 'em doing something) Have a look now.

Not often seen-but not a lot of use

I recently came across a copy of a Data Book that was published in the US in at least four editions Silver/Red copies have also been seen.

Mine is the 4th-edition from 1935, which is of
great interest to the Leica collector but much of the Data is now overtaken by new emulsions. However the physical data on lenses and cameras is still good and I have also reproduced the page about Bromoil for the benefit of those few hardy workers maintaining an interest in the medium. The cover appears to be produced in a grained board and 'gold' and is really an attractive item.The author was active in many Photographic fields in the US and died in 1964 at the age of 62.
He had been active in forces photo training and had worked for Carl Zeiss,Gevaert,and was Dean of New York Institute of Photography. All in all a fascinating book and one wonders how he managed to collate such a mine of information in the few years that the Leica had been available.

Just for fun-or perhaps a life saver-is this card exposure guide picked up at  Process Supplies of Mount Pleasant EC. yesterday. It is published to publicise 'filmsnotdead'  a website that is well worth a visit.

New Leica- or just 'Software' ?

Soft Leica (cushion) seen in the window of a shop a day or so ago.Seems to be a Classic f2.8 50mm Elmar of the original production run and the serial number suggests a date of 1963. I guess the body has been digitally adjusted to fit the shape! One might expect to see a Elmar -M in its place but very nice to spot this at £14.99- Also available at other retailers!

Colin O'Brien 1940-2016 Celebration of his Life and Work.

        This will take place at St James Clerkenwell, Clerkenwell                                     Close,London EC1R 0AE

  Thursday 17th November, Doors Open 5.30pm(when Bells will be                                          rung) for 6.00.

                    Reception and Drinks in the Crypt afterwards.






                                    Detailed enquiries to SpitalfieldsLife@gmail.com please
.

Magazines from the Golden Age. LEICA NEWS AND TECHNIQUE

I have recently been fortunate to acquire many bound and loose copies of the Magazine issued from E.Leitz(London) at 20 Mortimer Street W1. These ran from No.1 in January 1935 until the outbreak of War and I think I have them all.  The word 'rare' is much overused in Leica circles but it is not too hard to come across this Magazine which was issued widely and was sent free to all who registered their Leica serial number.  No doubt this had the dual purpose of tracking sales and imports and Leitz could be a bit off-hand about unofficial imports as can happen elsewhere today!  Needless to say this was a difficult time internationally and in the build up to war I can detect no bias or political slant- indeed, the content has a very British flavour.Contributions from Europe share this strictly neutral approach. The cover for March/April 1939 is an example of what was displayed,hardly enough to frighten, and in fact the last edition I have.I should be pleased to hear if later issues were published.

 The Aircraft is a DH86 Express which was a rather old design, even then, as De Havilland were already manufacturing the streamlined Albatross when war was declared.

 Looking in detail at this issue,it ran to 28 pages with advertisements from non-Leitz sources such as M.C.M. and A.P. included. Four pages of Colour were included with two full page prints in Agfacolor from Leica slides which are of excellent quality and used the Elmar 90mm and 35mm lenses. The material is diverse and rather technical in character but the house style is very readable to the present day enthusiast.

The contributors are widely spread across the Leica scene of the 1930's with photographs from C. C. Herbert of our Society.the author H.V.Morton, Stoeckler,Hoppe,Dr Salomon,H.S. Newcombe,Baumann,J Allan Cash,Dr Jouhar and above all James Jarche, uncle of our current President, with his magnificent press photographs. The enigmatic 'R.G.Lewis' also appears in the credits with a very innocent picture of a Windmill in Aden although I notice that much more of his work appears in M.C.M of the day.

I have not tried to reproduce the colour plates which may not scan too well but a most interesting set of prints appears in Nov/Dec 1937 with contributions from Walter Benser and Ernst Leitz, Jr. On the next page is an advertisement for Kodachrome Slide Film at 12/6  per 18 exposures.(0.62p decimal)
However Agfa have a whole page and quote 6/- per 36 exposures(30p)  both with processing in London!

Bill Cornwall Farewell 3rd October 2016