Two new lens

[Ian Grant]

Last year I bought a couple of lenses. One is 1 17½£ Taylor, Taylor, & Hobson f8 Rapid Rectilinear lens that is marked 12"x10", great as I have a camera that format. I haggled on price and got a bargain. The seller said will you take this one for £30, I said no it's disgustingly dirty. I decided later OK and bought it.



The lens boards are the same size indicating they were used with the same camera. When I got home I looked at the dirty lens, the one on the left. Then I saw the manufacturers name.



Dallmeyer archives show it's a Fast Acting Portrait Petzval 2B, 8" f4, manufactured in early 1864. Optically it is excellent condition.



It's not the usual swirly Petzval/






I have to use it on one of my 10x8 Agfa Ansco cameras, with a 5x4 reducing back, it would be OK for closer user with a 7x5 back. There are more images from this session, and I've used it again, but have yet to print the negatives, meanwhile a third much longer shoot with it is planned for the end of this month.
Ian

 

[Pete Askew]

Ah, you have just answered my question, Ian.

Interesting. It does render rather well doesn't it and I do like the dark key image.

Is the darkroom functioning fully now?

 

[Ian Grant]

Yes the darkroom has been up and running for a few years now. Needs de-cluttering, not sure I need five enlargers . . . . . . no make that eight

I have rather a lot of photographic paper. I just bought 4 unopened boxes of 50 sheet 20x16 Kodak Polyfiber, 2 50 sheet boxes 20x16 Kodak, Elite, and 2 100 sheet boxes Kodak Polycontrast II. That's on top of my stocks of Ilford paper

So the plan is to get printing.

Ian

 

[Pete Askew]

If you recall, Hamish and I visited just before you'd completed it.

I had a tidy up in the darkroom a couple of weeks back. My hope is to do some printing over Xmas.

 

[Ian Grant]

Yes I remember well. There was an Amateur Photographer article by John Bentley about my darkroom as part of the Ilford local darkroom scheme around the same time.

I seem to remember you bought a Linhof outfit around that time, well just after. It may have been one I nearly bought off the previous seller, a Manchester Leica dealer at a camera fair, he'd taken it in part exchange, and just wanted his money back quickly. Paul Waller I'd guess bought it, then you . . . . . . . .

Ian

 

[Pete Askew]

Yes, I think you are right. I have several Linhof setups although my main studio outfits in the UK are Sinar (and Cambo in Germany). I have a couple of Super Technikas, but I think it was a baby Linhof kit that I bought from Paul at about that time. I still have it.

I have known Paul since the mid 80s I guess and catch up now and then with him. He still finds the odd thing to tempt me with! Next year we might go through all of the equipment I have acquired over the decades and thin it out a bit.