100 years Null-Serie

[jerzy]

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vor 14 Minuten schrieb UliWer:

but „Tuch“ (cloth). Did Kodak use clothes for shutters in their contempory cameras?

indeed, from August 1929 Leica was equipped with curtains from Kodak. This replaced earlier 3 layer curtains (fabric-rubber-fabric).

[Roland Zwiers]

UliWer,

Thank you for this reply!

I fully agree:

Leica mit Codak Tuch ausgerüstet

makes more sense!!

So I am curious what we can find on page 66 of the Werkstattbuch.

One clue is another reference to 'Tuch' on the same index page.
I will paste this on the next page.

 

 

[Roland Zwiers]

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[Roland Zwiers]

Here I read:

Seidentuch Leicas on page 65

[= Leicas with silk curtain shutters?]

What do you think?

I included the line below:

Leihkameras aus meinen Kasten on page 60

[= loaner cameras from my cubboard?]

What do you think?

Again, access to these pages in the Werkstattbuch would be helpful.

 

Roland

 

[UliWer]

3 hours ago, Roland Zwiers said:

So, one can assume that Oskar Barnack’s movie camera was necessary for testing the Mechau film projector.

I don’t see a necessary sequel of Barnack‘s movie camera and the testing of the Mechau projector.

When the projector was first introduced there obviously were already many movie cameras around which had already produced a lot of films.

Especially when the testing took place in a theater at Wetzlar (with a public audience) they needed pre-produced professional films to show them. They didn’t need films made with the Barnack movie camera. So the construction of a new camera could take place at the same time of testing the projector or even after the tests were finished.

 

[UliWer]

11 minutes ago, Roland Zwiers said:

Seidentuch Leicas on page 65

[= Leicas with silk curtain shutters?]

Yes, certainly. I am wondering whether the line before „Gummi… (I can‘t decipher) z. Prüfung“ is linked to the next line with „Seidentuch“ (see jerzy‘s posting in #541 about a three layer curtain.

11 minutes ago, Roland Zwiers said:

Leihkameras aus meinen Kasten

Yes - perhaps „…aus meinem Karton“ - which would mean more or less the same. 

Though the real meaning seems obscure. Where the cameras delivered „out of his cupboard“ (strange remark since it shouldn‘t make any difference if they were delivered „from his cupboard“ or from any other place in the factory), did they disappear (were even stolen???) from his cupboard?

Edited May 15 by UliWer

[Roland Zwiers]

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UliWer: I don’t see a necessary sequel of Barnack‘s movie camera and the testing of the Mechau projector.

 

I fully agree.
But I find this sequel in Leica literature.

This brings me to a related observation where we can use the index of the werkstattbuch again.

It concerns the phrase:

Filme geliehen  on p. 76

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Do you read the same as well?

In my opinion it was very easy for Leitz to test the Mechau projector with cine positive films that could be rented from film distributors.

What do you think? 

[Roland Zwiers]

I read:

Gummi ?opf proben zur Prüfung

[Kl@usW.]

vor 5 Minuten schrieb Roland Zwiers:

I read:

Gummi ?opf proben zur Prüfung

Gummistoffproben would make more sense

 

[UliWer]

12 minutes ago, Roland Zwiers said:

Filme geliehen  on p. 76

Yes.

I agree with #549: „Gummistoffproben“ which goes with jerzy mentioning the three layer curtain.

Edited May 15 by UliWer

[Roland Zwiers]

The word Leihkameras occurs twice on page 115 of the Werkstattbuch.
Next to the red squares.
It is the famous page where we can find the Null-Serie cameras.

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[Roland Zwiers]

I discussed this page before in my research presentation.
One can see three columns.

The left column has 4 names.

The middle column has many names; I assume that these people received an Ur-Leica more or less as a gift.
[which does not exclude the possibility that some of these still returned the Ur-Leica after use.]

The right column explicitly mentions: Leihkameras.

So I assume that the recipients in this column were expected to return the Ur-Leica anyhow. 
Oskar Barnack could have stored these Leihkameras in a special cubboard.

In my working hypothesis Dr Paul Wolff was one of the recipients of such a Leihkamera.
In Meine Erfahrungen mit Die Leica (1939) he published a Leica picture that he took in 1924.
He uses this 1924 picture so as to show his progress over a period of 15 years.

[UliWer]

Yes, in both cases „Leihkameras“ - other than „Kamera geliefert“ (delivered) - means cameras which were loaned to certain person.

In earlier postings you wondered about perhaps two loanings to „Freund, Berlin“. The second entry from „1/2“ has the remark „verkauft“. So I assume that the camera which went as a loan to Freund on „28/9“ was sold (to him?) later. 

[Roland Zwiers]

There is so much uncertainty on page 115!!!

Note that the column 'Leihkameras' has two main sub-columns as well.

The right column has the header 'Zurück'.
So I would expect that returned loaner cameras would be included here.

One can also see the date: 25/9

Note that the same date 25/9 occurs at #110 in the centre column.
25 September 1923 was near the peak of hyperinflation in Germany!

In my working hypothesis, around this time Oskar Barnack had no time for bookkeeping obligations anymore.
He and his colleagues were struggling for survival.

So what happened to loaner cameras in this period?
This can very ell explain the confusion between the delivery book 'Kamera'and page 115 of the Werkstattbuch.

But you will agree that this is a very big subject.
And how to make progress when the complete Werkstattbuch is not made available for research?
just during this converstaion I got an important piece of informaton that I didn't know before.
The Kodak curtains may be an indication that Oskar Barnack finished his Werkstattbuch in 1929!
I assumed it would have been closer to 1925, but was looking for more information on this. 

 

[Roland Zwiers]

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Another mystery at #110.

I simply cannot read the word on the left side of: gekauft 
It looks a bit like Forde [a variant on Fodis?].

Which brings me to the question: why does this page has no reference to the distance meters?
Was this not necessary as all Null-Serie cameras were provided with a distance meter anyhow?
I have seen no literature on this.
Another page in the Werkstattbuch implies that the first 850 Leica I cameras were not all equipped with a distance meter.
in the same period that some 850 cameras were delivered the number of distance meters were only 775 or so. 
 

[UliWer]

It‘s perhaps a minor footnote that Leica Camera AG upholds the tradition of giving cameras as a loan to „betatesters“ who post their results in this Forum still today. Of course they are expected to send back their loans (at their own cost….). 

P. 115 of the „Werkstattbuch“ in the column headed by „zurück“ (back) there are no entries with the exception of „Freund, Berlin 1/2“ „verkauft“ (sold).

Does this mean the other cameras weren‘t sent back? I don‘t think so but rather the names of the recipients were striked out when the cameras came back.

There is the strange entry from 28/9 in the „zurück“ column. The name striked out in nthis coulmn is hard to read, though one might guess „Barnack“ with some unreadable letters behind this name and there is the same date „28/9“. This could be interpreted that a camera was loaned to „Freund Berlin“ on „28/9“ and given back to Barnack on the same day. Not very probable.  

It seems more that this camera was given to „Freund“ by Barnack, which was an exception as other cameras on loan were sent from elsewhere in the factory. So even the strange remark about the „Kasten“ (cupboard) could make sense: Baranack had a few cameras at his own disposal in his cupboard which he gave on loan. Perhaps his entries in the „Werkstattbuch“ weren‘t always consistent and he didn‘t list all of his cameras in the cupboard.

[UliWer]

15 minutes ago, Roland Zwiers said:

Another mystery at #110.

I simply cannot read the word on the left side of: gekauft 
It looks a bit like Forde [a variant on Fodis?].

I think you have to read it together with the recipient of No 110, someone in Vienna, striked out. If we assume that striking out names means the camera came back from them, the entry at the right could indicate another recipient who actually bought this camera („gekauft“).

[Roland Zwiers]

Yes, this is possible.
At this stage one has to keep all options open.

Another mistery is the group of names that appears both in the first column (waiting list?) and in the right column with the loaner cameras.

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In the column on the right four names have been striked through; does this mean they have returned their loaner cameras?
On the left I can read: Zack, Becker, Lehr and a name that I cannot read at all.
The capital could be a G, like Prof. Klute, Giessen on the same page.
Because of the horizontal accent on top there must be a letter - u - in the last syllable.

What do you think?
You are a native reader of German?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[UliWer]

13 minutes ago, Roland Zwiers said:

Another mistery is the group of names that appears both in the first column (waiting list?) and in the right column with the loaner cameras.

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In the column on the right four names have been striked through; does this mean they have returned their loaner cameras?
On the left I can read: Zack, Becker, Lehr and a name that I cannot read at all.
The capital could be a G, like Prof. Klute, Giessen on the same page.
Because of the horizontal accent on top there must be a letter - u - in the last syllable.

What do you think?
You are a native reader of German?

Yes I am a native reader in German. Though i can only guess the unreadable name. Perhaps „Gynauer“ - which would be an unusual though not impossible name. 

Your theory about the four names on the very left as a waiting list but later recipients of loan cameras (at least Lehr recieved No. 116) seems very probable. 

Edited May 15 by UliWer

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[Roland Zwiers]

50 minutes ago, UliWer said:

It‘s perhaps a minor footnote that Leica Camera AG upholds the tradition of giving cameras as a loan to „betatesters“ who post their results in this Forum still today. Of course they are expected to send back their loans (at their own cost….). 

P. 115 of the „Werkstattbuch“ in the column headed by „zurück“ (back) there are no entries with the exception of „Freund, Berlin 1/2“ „verkauft“ (sold).

Does this mean the other cameras weren‘t sent back? I don‘t think so but rather the names of the recipients were striked out when the cameras came back.

There is the strange entry from 28/9 in the „zurück“ column. The name striked out in nthis coulmn is hard to read, though one might guess „Barnack“ with some unreadable letters behind this name and there is the same date „28/9“. This could be interpreted that a camera was loaned to „Freund Berlin“ on „28/9“ and given back to Barnack on the same day. Not very probable.  

It seems more that this camera was given to „Freund“ by Barnack, which was an exception as other cameras on loan were sent from elsewhere in the factory. So even the strange remark about the „Kasten“ (cupboard) could make sense: Baranack had a few cameras at his own disposal in his cupboard which he gave on loan. Perhaps his entries in the „Werkstattbuch“ weren‘t always consistent and he didn‘t list all of his cameras in the cupboard.

What is so strange in this column is that the dates seem to be in reversed order.

The stiked out names have the dates 25/9 or 28/9, presumably 1923.
This includes Freund. The second name could also be Baumann.

Next is Lehr at 1/6 or 6/6. Is this 1923 as well? Why the resversed order?
Prof. Sch??? at 4/6
Freund (again) at 1/2

In my working hypothesis, Oskar Barnack cancelled the numbers 126-129 so as to use the material for the new self-capping shutter.
This must have happened before June 1924.

Again, the dates of 25/9 and 28/9 1923 are near the peak of hyperinflation in Germany.
So one would expect Oskar Barnack to be less strict/ precise.

I fully agree that Oskar barnack may have had his own cupboard for loaner cameras.
So in my working hypothesis he loaned one of these cameras to Dr Paul Wolff, who was not very enthousiastic about the results.
This may explain again the complex situation for Dr Paul Wolff, when later in life he was seen as an early Leica ambassador!