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> RARE 1927 ANSCO MEMO WOODEN CAMERA

comanche
post Apr 14 2015, 04:02 PM, updated 5y ago

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The Ansco Memo Miniature Camera was made by Agfa Ansco of New York. It was
marketed as the only camera that could take 50 pictures with one roll of fifty
cent film. The Memo Camera, as it was called, sold for USD20.00 and featured an
F: 3.5 Anastigmat lens. She measured a mere 1.5 inches wide, 4 inches long and
2 inches deep. Really small for 1927. The camera was known for taking good
photos of action and speed. Photos could be taken quickly one after the other.
This was state-of-the-art and a modern marvel for it's time. If you think the
USD20.00 price tag was cheap, USD1 in 1927 had the same purchasing power as USD32.35
does today .That means that this camera today would cost about USD640.00. That
is, it wasn't cheap!

The Ansco Memo camera is a wood-bodied 35mm half-frame camera dating to the late 1920s. It was not the first American camera made for 35mm film, but it is the first American 35mm to sell in abundant quantities. Earlier American 35's are much rarer. They were produced and sold in small numbers.

This is the first Ansco camera to carry the Memo name. Later, Ansco and Agfa-Ansco used the Memo name on cameras with different designs.

The Ansco Memo was introduced around January, 1927, almost two years after Ernst Leitz introduced the Leica A. The Leica camera produced a full-frame 35mm image. The Ansco Memo is a half-frame 35mm camera.

Ansco Memo cameras were produced in numerous configurations. Variations included models with an f 6.3 lens, f 3.5 lens, focusing and non-focusing lenses, plain uncovered wood bodies, leather covered bodies, and a wood olive-drab painted Boy Scout model. There were models that focused to three feet, and others that focused to two feet. Lenses were provided by Wollensak, Bausch & Lomb, Ilex, Agfa and possibly other makers. The lens on this example is an Afga Anastigmat.

This view of the Memo shows the foldable wire handle and tubular optical viewfinder on the camera top. The viewfinder image is large, contrasty and clear. Unlike some simple viewfinders, the Memo finder gives a good indication of the field of view.

On the side of the body is the shutter release lever. As this is a later version camera, the shutter release is protected against being accidentally bumped by a guard plate. Earlier Memos did not have a shutter release guard.

The round cutout on the front of the body above the lens is the frame counter window. The frame counter is a large round brass plate with easy to read markings. The counter is numbered to 50, and is the manual reset type. To reset the counter for a new roll of film, simply place your thumb on the round knob, press in and rotate.

The shutter on this example is a Wollensak Betax No. 4, with speeds from 1/5 to 1/100 second, plus time and bulb. The shutter is self-cocking. It is not necessary to arm and release the shutter in two separate operations. Just pressing down on the shutter release performs both tasks.

The lens is an f 3.5 Agfa Anastigmat, with stops to f 16 and front-cell focus from 2 to 100 feet. It is interesting that the greatest marked focusing distance is not infinity, but 100 feet.

The back latch can be seen on the top edge in front of the viewfinder eyepiece. The back is fully removable for loading. The post extending from the slot in the camera back is the film advance trigger. Film is advanced by pressing down on this post.

TEL: 012-9154001

This post has been edited by comanche: Apr 14 2015, 04:18 PM


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