Voigtlander und Sohn in Wien No. 3611 brass barrel lens

[2F/2F]

Hi,

This sweet-looking lens was discovered while digging through an estate that my employer is preparing for a sale on Sat.

It is approx. 10 inches long, four inches wide with a brass body. It has a slot for the insertion of stops (although we did not find any stops), and a sliding mounting collar that can be placed anywhere along the body of the lens. There is no retainer nut on the mounting flange. It has a front cap and a removable lens hood. It's only identifying marks are engraved on the barrel in cursive: "No. 3611 (skip line) Voigtlander & Sohn (skip line) in Wien."

It is quite similar to the one in this auction: http://cgi.ebay.com/Antique-Voigtlan...d=p3286.c0.m14

I am looking for any info on this lens. Focal length, year of manufacture, street value, etc. We are trying to figure out an approximate value so we can decide to either EBay it or let me purchase it.

I am hoping it is a little-known lens without a cult following, as I am eager to mess with it.

The house is the estate of a retired Cal-Tech professor, and was found in a bottom kitchen cabinet in a box of antique measuring instruments. Could it be an astrophotography lens that she pilfered from a Cal-Tech stockroom using the justification that it would never be used again?

Thank you in advance.

[eddie gunks]

i am going to guess it will give you great swirls. get it! if you put it on e bay let me know for your sake tell them i said it is worth 40-50$! buy it and run! tell them that the swirls=bad glass that is real old etc etc.

good luck.

[gandolfi]

I would buy it...

look here: http://members.aol.com/dcolucci/sn.htm

according to this list the lens is from approx 1850, which i ooold...

the focal length is easy to figure out: point the lens towards the sun and mesure the distance between the slot for the apertures and the focused sun (or another bright item far away from the lens (infinity).
that's the focal length.

(then mesure the diameter of the front lens, and divide it into the found focal length: that's the aperture..
ex: 300mm focal length. 100mm diameter of the front lens gives an aperture of F:3...)

the value is difficult to estimate as you havn't any pictures for us to see. (condition is important for collectors, so the better looking, the better price..)

that age means proberly a Petzval type lens, but that is also easy to determine if you dismantle the lenses and look for the construction...

http://members.aol.com/summaron7/petzval.htm

hope this helps.
(I'd love to see it!)

[goamules]

Values on large petzvals have been very volatile the past year. One like this could go pretty high. Once in a while, one goes low. You can use that fact to try to buy it yourself, tell the seller nothing is certain on OhBoy. I assume all 3 lenses are there, and in good shape, and the focus knob is there. I'd pay up to a couple C notes if he'll take it. If you feel you really need it go a little higher.

[jimgalli]

Is it possible to get a digi snap posted of the lens with perhaps a yardstick for reference. Just not enough info to make an educated guess. The one in Aus is laughable trying to get that much $$ for a lens missing it's glass. Prices go up exponentially for the really large ones. Does this lens have waterhouse stop slot?

[2F/2F]

Hello to all.

Thank you all for the info on this lens.

I just disassembled the lens, cleaned the filthy glass, and put it back together.

All three elements are there and in good shape. The pinion is not present, nor are the stops, though there is a slot for the stops underneath the sliding collar.

[Barry S]

Three elements? Do you see a cemented doublet in front and two air spaced elements in the rear? If so, it's definitely a Petzval. Did you measure the focal length? If the diameter of the glass is about 3", that would put it around 12-13" assuming a classic f/3.8 Petzval. So it was probably meant to cover whole plate. With the original metal lens cap--sweet! Is it your lens now?

[cdholden]

Tab? Ewwwwwww.

[Ole]

The entrance pupil seems to be about 2 1/2", so a f:3.8 Petzval would be about 9 1/2" - or 240mm or so.

That fits in well with a total length of 10" - Petzvals are just a little bit shorter than the focal length, so subtracting the hood brings us into that range.

And that focal length would be made for 9x12cm or smaller. If it had been some decades newer I would have guessed it was made for "Cartes des Visite", but at that time I think more like lantern slides.

[luvcameras]

It is a definitely a Petzval - thats really all Voigtlander sold at this point in time for camera lenses - although 3 elements is not correct - should have 4 elements...

My pages have all moved to antiquecameras.net and my Petzval Lens page

http://antiquecameras.net/petzvallens.html

The lens dates to 1849-1850. So, it was likely used on a Dag camera. The slot was added later.

If I were asked, I think the lens value is around $ 300 if all the elements are there... It would be worth much more with a flange and the rack/pinion...

Dan