semi-ambivalent Posted December 23, 2018 Share #1 Posted December 23, 2018 Advertisement (gone after registration) My father-in-law passed some years ago and a daughter is still going through his things. Yesterday she gave this to us. JD was an engineering geologist in the mining industry and then for PennDOT where he had a hand in the New River Gorge Bridge. We've been given all kinds of instruments but this I thought might be fun here. It still works but is very cloudy. There is a screw under the leatherette which might allow access for cleaning but not survive peeling back. $4.25 for this German engineering. Don't get me started. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/292544-castor-well-pollux-anyway/?do=findComment&comment=3652057'>More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted December 23, 2018 Posted December 23, 2018 Hi semi-ambivalent, Take a look here Castor &...well Pollux Anyway. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
schattenundlicht Posted December 23, 2018 Share #2 Posted December 23, 2018 (edited) 4 hours ago, semi-ambivalent said: My father-in-law passed some years ago and a daughter is still going through his things. Yesterday she gave this to us. JD was an engineering geologist in the mining industry and then for PennDOT where he had a hand in the New River Gorge Bridge. We've been given all kinds of instruments but this I thought might be fun here. It still works but is very cloudy. There is a screw under the leatherette which might allow access for cleaning but not survive peeling back. $4.25 for this German engineering. Don't get me started. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! This Pollux rangefinder item was one of the more successful accessories supplied by the small company of „Feinmechanische Werkstätten Ing. Karl Foitzik“, in Trier, Germany. Foitzik had been a wartime emloyee of Leitz and had founded his first company in Lübeck, northern Germany, immediately after the war. This company eventionally floundered after developing, manufacturing and marketing cameras quite successfully. At that time, however, there were short of a hundred manufacturers of photographic equipment in Germany and the competition was fierce. The company became entrenched in patent struggles with Leitz and in quarrels with Steinheil over quality issues of the supplied lenses (or so the story goes). Thus a change of venture must have looked quite attractive. Because roughly half of all buildings in the city of Trier had been destroyed in bomb raids, there was ample room for „startup“ industry there, and the city fathers must have been rather desperate to revive their economy, most propably resulting in favourable conditions for land purchase and local taxes. From 1951 to 1954, the company expanded from 20 to 150 employees, manufacturing cameras, accessories and eventually lenses, some of this as OEM supplier to third parties. Besides the rangefinder in your possession, they manufactured universal finders for multiple focal lengths that were destined as more affordable alternatives to the Leica finders. In the winter of 1955, Foitzik died in a car accident due to icy road conditions (that highway, an hour’s drive from where I live, through windswept forrested hills, is no fun to drive in winter even to this very day). The company never recovered from the loss of its founder and chief developer, these already being difficult times, because of the quality and pricing of the emerging Japanese camera industry. Sorry, if this longish story was boring [ EDIT: I do not live in Trier (I live in Bad Kreuznach, home of the Super Angulon and other fine Schneider lenses). Until today, I was not aware of the company of Foitzik. However, I was intrigued by this Pollux rangefinder and started some research. Most of what I have written in this post is substantially abbreviated from Trier local newspaper articles dating back 10-20 years and covering certain aspects of the city‘s history. Thus, I feel obliged to give credits, principally to the „Trierischer Volksfreund“ newspaper. ] Edited December 23, 2018 by schattenundlicht referenced information 3 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
semi-ambivalent Posted December 24, 2018 Author Share #3 Posted December 24, 2018 5 hours ago, schattenundlicht said: Sorry, if this longish story was boring But it was not. Thus, I feel obliged to give credits, principally to the „Trierischer Volksfreund“ newspaper. ] Righteous. Thank you. s-a Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
romualdo Posted December 24, 2018 Share #4 Posted December 24, 2018 5 hours ago, schattenundlicht said: Sorry, if this longish story was boring [ EDIT: I do not live in Trier (I live in Bad Kreuznach, home of the Super Angulon and other fine Schneider lenses). Until today, I was not aware of the company of Foitzik. However, I was intrigued by this Pollux rangefinder and started some research. Most of what I have written in this post is substantially abbreviated from Trier local newspaper articles dating back 10-20 years and covering certain aspects of the city‘s history. Thus, I feel obliged to give credits, principally to the „Trierischer Volksfreund“ newspaper. ] on the contrary, most enjoyable - nice piece of research Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgk Posted December 24, 2018 Share #5 Posted December 24, 2018 Its all too easy for such historical information to be entirely forgotten. Thanks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Attrik Posted December 24, 2018 Share #6 Posted December 24, 2018 About 65 years ago my father bought a Wattameter rangefinder. As I recall it looked very similar to this Pollux. What other experiences? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
willeica Posted December 24, 2018 Share #7 Posted December 24, 2018 Advertisement (gone after registration) These were produced with different names under license in various markets. The Pollux is very like the Capri Rangefinder featured in the photo below. I would assume that the product started in Germany and was licensed for the UK market. In some cases, such as the Repometer, also featured below, the rangefinder was combined with a light meter. The Corfield set is more upmarket, but definitely not for the street photographer. William Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! 2 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/292544-castor-well-pollux-anyway/?do=findComment&comment=3652470'>More sharing options...
schattenundlicht Posted December 24, 2018 Share #8 Posted December 24, 2018 What I like about the „Capri“ is the user-adjustability of vertical alignment as well as zeroing of the distance scale. Either the Pollux was an advanced model with smaller manufacturing tolerances that no longer needed frequent adjustments, or it was an economized version... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
schattenundlicht Posted December 24, 2018 Share #9 Posted December 24, 2018 (edited) 2 hours ago, willeica said: These were produced with different names under license in various markets. The Pollux is very like the Capri Rangefinder featured in the photo below. [...] William Ok, so the Capri must have been either OEM manufactured by Foitzik and rebranded, or licensed by him, because I have found a patent on the dually adjusteable rangefinder that was issued to him in 1952. Kind regards Mathias Edited December 24, 2018 by schattenundlicht Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
schattenundlicht Posted December 24, 2018 Share #10 Posted December 24, 2018 Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/292544-castor-well-pollux-anyway/?do=findComment&comment=3652538'>More sharing options...
schattenundlicht Posted December 24, 2018 Share #11 Posted December 24, 2018 Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/292544-castor-well-pollux-anyway/?do=findComment&comment=3652540'>More sharing options...
schattenundlicht Posted December 24, 2018 Share #12 Posted December 24, 2018 Here the patent states that, whereas previously, adjustments could only be performed by a specialist shop, these are now amenable to the user, thanks to the invention at hand. Kind regards Mathias Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/292544-castor-well-pollux-anyway/?do=findComment&comment=3652541'>More sharing options...
schattenundlicht Posted December 24, 2018 Share #13 Posted December 24, 2018 (edited) Foitzik, in 1954, even manufactured a 6x6 folder with integrated but uncoupled rangefinder... Enough for today. Family is waiting for X-mas Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! [ Photograph by Werner Marx http://www.werner-marx-fotografie.de/Artikel/Foinix-Trier ] Edited December 24, 2018 by schattenundlicht 2 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! [ Photograph by Werner Marx http://www.werner-marx-fotografie.de/Artikel/Foinix-Trier ] ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/292544-castor-well-pollux-anyway/?do=findComment&comment=3652544'>More sharing options...
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