Fiama; 1st version for horizontal pictures only

[darigle]

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Does anyone have any information on when the 1st version of the Fiama panoramic tripod head (horizontal scale only) changed to the 2nd version with scales for horizontal and vertical pictures? Indeed, was it ever for general sale, it appears in a New York 1930s catalogue which seems a little late for the 1st version? Any thoughts?

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[luigi bertolotti]

I think the FIAMA was listed at least until the FARUX with interchangable rings was issued (1933); difficult to say how long it had the horizontal-only engraving... FIAMA is one of the oldest accessories (1926) and the pics I saw all show the version with dual engraving hor./vert. A possible date of change could be derived from the date of introduction of FIAVI (1929)... the device to keep the camera centered onto the panoramic head: it provides both horizontal and vertical positioning of the camera, so one can think that at that times the FIAME was already made in the dual-scale version.

[darigle]

Thanks Luigi, that seems to be a very sensible rationale. One would assume there may have been a carry-over of old stock but 1929 as a date for both horizontal and vertical would make sense. Grazie e saluti.

[darigle]

After carrying out some further research, in particular with an original copy of the 1930 Leitz New York Catalogue no. 1174 the accessories illustrated include the FIAVI cat no. 35625 and of pertinent interest the FIAMA catalogue no 35250 which shows the 1st version and confirms in the text that it is marked for horizontal only e.g. 9 stops of 40 degress making 360 degrees. For the FIAVI it states that it permits the use of the FIAMA quoting ' Angle Bracket , for use with the Panoramic Head, permitting of leveling the LEICA when used vertically for panoramas'. An interesting contradiction?

 

Perhaps the catalogue although showing the 1st FIAMA version was not correct and when one ordered a FIAMA one received the second version with the two scales for horizontal and vertical.

 

Does anyone have a 1st version of the FIAMA with horizontal scales only? If so, a picture would be much appreciated.