Fiftieth Anniversary Kodak

The Anniversary Kodak set arrived this week and I am happy to say that the camera, film and instruction booklet are in pristine condition. The dealer card is a bit worn at the edges and discolored, and the box had several loose parts. With pliobond and strips of brown packing paper I glued all parts in the original place and restored the box to a fine exhibition item.

I added a description of the camera to my website, so click here if you want to read more about it.

There are a number of cameras and items I did not buy, but would have liked to bid on and win. First of all there was a fine No. 3 Folding Pocket Kodak Deluxe. Thanks to my high bid and to the even higher bid of another collector it went for a nice sum of Uncle Sam $$$, but alas not to me.
Because I did go for the Deluxe, I let pass a nice No. 3 Eastman Plate camera Series D and a No. 1A Speed Kodak. So now I did not get any of these, but they will come again, they always do. More rare is a tin box for developing powder in Art Nouveau style, with a beautiful drawing of a lady with a Folding Pocket Kodak in her hands. I did bid on it, but not enough, so someone else is happy with it now. It would have been a nice addition to my Original FPK set! Alas again...

For the rest I am busy in my garden and don't have much time for blogging. Terraces are ready around the house, but a new teahouse needed / needs electricity, paint and the garden around it had to be planted all over again. The planting is done, but now I have to make a brick path leading to the teahouse...

No. 4 Eastman Plate Series D & Anniversary set

The Eastman Plate camera arrived and it surprised me in a positve way. The camera is not only in a very nice condition, but it is also a high quality instrument with of number of special features for the advanced amateur photographer. The lens panel can move up and down and to the left and right, facilitating perspective adjustments. The back panel can rotate along a horizontal axis, making tilting of the plane of focus possible. My Series D camera has double extension of the bellows, so the camera could be used for close up photos.
There is not much information around about the camera, but I found that it cost US$ 25.00 in its day for the version with the Rapid Rectilinear lens. That was not a small amount. A factory worker had to work more than two weeks at 50 hours per week to earn that. A version with a better grade Plastigmat lens cost $ 62.50.
After a bit of cleaning, reparing the reflex finder on the drop bed and a coating of Venetian Cream the camera was ready for a portrait session. Here are two results.

Because of the winter period (and the bad light) my Black Maria film studio is closed. The video with the rotating camera will have to wait until the spring. Nevertheless I added the No. 4 Eastman Plate Series D to my website. Follow the link to see it there.

Since many years I have a Anniversary Kodak in my collection. My mother gave it to me for one of my birthdays a long time ago. That was in the pre-internet age, when lists of cameras arrived in the mail (yes, on paper!) and if you wanted something you had to call the dealer in the middle of the night (from Europe to the USA). The camera I got is not in the best condition, but as it is a birthday present I never replaced it. I won't discard it now, but I could not resist buying a very fine set, with box, booklet, special card, box of film and a very clean camera in like new condition. It did not arrive yet, but here's a pic.

Additions to my collection

I have not blogged for some time because I have been and still am very busy with building a terrace on three sides of the house. It takes all my time, but the result is worth it. Below you can see the work in progress on one side.

Working around the house does not mean that I forgot about my collection. Certainly not, I even added three items to it. I bough a set of two photos, made with a A Kodak and B Kodak, meaning the A Ordinary or Daylight and the B Ordinary or Daylight. I allready had an A and a C photo, and now I have the a complete set to go with my cameras. Below is a low quality snap made with my phone, showing my Daylight and Ordinary cameras and the three photos. Notice something? Yep, the A Daylight is missing. Let me know if you have a nice one for sale.

Also I bought a nice No. 4 Eastman Plate camera Series D set, wtih case, plate holders, ground glass back and a camera in good shape. It even has the two screws on the side panels that are often missing. This camera was not made in very large numbers, but still it is offered for sale regularly. But not often in so nice a condition!

What did I buy not? There was a very clean and very rare Falcon box on eBay that sold for US $ 618. I did bid on it, but because I have a Falcon I didn't go very high.
I did not bid on a beautiful No. 4 Eureka with plate holders and ground glass. It went for $ 466. It's good to see that such rare cameras still fetch good prices. See my No. 4 Eureka here, and my No. 4 Zenith here. The Zenith was the UK version of the Eureka and only 1000 were made. It is quite rare now.

I'm ending with a thing that I certainly would never bid on, but that sold for $ 4078. It's a figurine with a box camera. I would not have it in my garden and certainly not in my museum, but someone is happy with it now.

The Digitized Kodak Catalog Project 1886 to 1941

A couple of weeks ago I received the CD with the Kodak catalogs from 1886 to 1941 that was produced by Rob Niederman and Milan Zahorcak. Now I have had the time to have a good look at it, and here is what I found.
When you put the CD in the drive it starts the explorer (if you have a Windows computer, I don't know about Apple), in which you will see a list of 9 folders and files.

There is a START-HERE.html file and it is quite obvious that you have to start by double clicking that one. Doing so opens a page in your internet browser that acts as a kind of menu. You can choose between several options, like clicking on one of the catalogs.
The picture below on the left shows the menu page.
You can go directly to a catalog by clicking once on the picture of the catalog you want. A PDF opens with the complete catalog. You can scroll through it in the usual PDF way. See the pic below right.

A very nice option is that you can search every word in the catalog. I did so with the word "enlarging". See the illustration. With the 'next' and 'previous' arrows you can navigate through the search results.

This is one way to find information, but there is more. Remember the START-HERE page. One of the menu options is: globally searching the catalog library. Click on it and a new page opens with instructions how to search all the catalogs with one search. This is a real magnificent option. Imagine, you can find every word in all the Kodak catalogs from 1886 to 1941! I tried it with "folding kodet" and got a list of hits.

On the left you see the list of hits. Every catalog in which the search string 'folding kodet' is found is presented as a folder. You can open the folder and see all the pages from that catalog in which the search string was found. Click on one of these and on the right you get that page. See the pic above.

Are there things you can not do? Yes, you can not print a catalog. But who should want that? If you need an illustration of a camera or catalog text, you can make a screen print and trim it with any picture editor.

This digital collection is one of the best things that happened to the Kodak collector for many years. You can not only find info on a camera, but also read the forewords in the catalogs. These often contain information about the important developents of that year and the way Eastman Kodak tried to make use of them.

I am happy with this CD? Yes! Should you buy it? I would say 'yes', but that is what you have to decide yourself. I hope this description is helpful.

To end this blog I show one page from the 1895 catalog about the Pocket Kodak.

On the page you read about a Plate holder for the Pocket Kodak, a very rare item, but I am so lucky to have one in my collection. What I do not have is a Pocket Kodak in its case. There was a very fine one on eBay, but the starting price of Uncle Sam $ 475 was a bit high. I hoped no one would bid and the camera would be relisted, but no, someone did bid and got it for the $ 475 plus $ 40 postage. Ten years ago I would not have hesitated to go for it, but nowadays this price is too much. I will wait for another one to turn up.



A victorian lady's summer sunday afternoon

Learning by doing is, I think, the best way to learn anything. Also I don't like to read instructions. So I installed my Adobe Premiere Elements 10 and began experimenting. I started with the full installation, with the trial version of Photoshop and the contents CD of Premiere, but my notebook wasn't so happy with that. It was so slow and often just stopped working that I de-installed everything and started all over with only the main programm of Premiere, not the content CD. The result is better, but not perfect. Sometimes parts of the editing just don't work and the programm closes, resulting in loss of work. Now I save the file every few minutes.
Nevertheless it is much fun working with Premiere Elements 10. There is so much in it, that I have only scratched the surface of all posibilities. In my first experimental film I have experimented much with two or three films imposed over each other, fading in and out. Here it is: (take care that your speakers are turned on loud enough!)

A Vistorian Lady's

Summer Sunday Afternoon

A Kodaksefke Production

eBay stereo & a rare 4A Speed Kodak plate back

To start with the plate back: that is the latest addition to my collection. It fits beautiful to my No. 4A Speed Kodak camera. The plate back was sold for $ 7.50 during the period 1909-1913. A double glass plate holder did cost $ 1.25.

The camera itself appeared in the 1908 catalog, but the plate holder back first appeared in the 1909 catalog. (Many thanks to Rob Niederman and Milan Zahorcak for their Kodak catalog CD, from which the pic is taken.)

Then to the stereo stuff. A couple of days ago a very nice No. 2 Stereo Brownie salesman example card was sold for $ 39. I did not buy it because I allready have a Stereo Brownie card, but I don't know if that was a good decision. See for yourself.
The building could very well be a part of Kodak Park. It sure looks like that. See the Brownie camera on my site.

Not yet sold are three stereo cameras. The first is a No. 2 Stereo Brownie in very nice condition, although the strap is broken. Still 9 days to go. If you want one, this would be a nice one.
The second camera is the second version of the Stereo Kodak Model 1. See the pic below on the right. Still 6 days to go.
The third one is also the second version. See it here. You can buy it now for $ 499 or make an offer. The first version of the Stereo Kodak Model 1 camera you can see on my site.

The CD with all the Kodak catalogs did arrive and far above you can see a page from the 1909 catalog (4A Speed Kodak). I will have a better look at this CD and report on it here.

All the old Kodak catalogs

Early Kodak catalogs are quite rare and contain lots of information. So it's not very strange that they sell for a nice bundle of $$$. For all those who do not have a full set of original catalogs a DVD is available now, with all the catalogs from 1886 up to 1941. It is produced by Rob Niederman and Milan Zahorcak. Read all about it at Rob's site. I am going to order one and I will get back on it here. Below the cover of a 1906 catalog from my own collection.

Today I also pre-ordered the Adobe Premiere Elements 10 software for editing videos. Until now I worked with the free Windows Live Movie Maker. I noticed that I like working with video, so I gave it a go. The software will arive around October 11, just in time for my holiday week.

What's going on at eBay? In the past weeks two Eastman Plate Cameras were sold. The No. 4 size was a nice set (see below). The No. 3 was just the camera. I didn't bid on them because I thought they were not good enough, the No. 4 missing the screws on the side of the body and the finder, and the No. 3 also missing the screws and having scuffed leather. Both sold for US$ 122. They pop up regularly, so I will find mine.

At the moment there is a No. 1 Kodak box and a 1889 instruction booklet for sale. As you can see, the Kodak box is rather damaged and the pull string is missing. Only 1 day to go. The book has 3 days to go. Not much bidding yet, but that will come.

No. 2 Bullet Special and No. 2 Bull's-Eye Special

Last weekend I shot two videos of my No. 2 Specials and this weekend I uploaded them to my website. Both cameras date from the period 1898-1904 and were better grade box cameras for the family photographer. The difference between the regular Bullet and Bull's-Eye being that the Specials have a better lens (Rapid Rectilinear) and shutter. This Eastman Triple Action shutter has Bulb, Instantaneous and Time setting (B, I, T). The I setting has three speeds: slow, medium and fast. There is also an iris diaphragm.

The first video shows the No. 2 Bullet Special. See the black insert in the back of the box? This was used when the camera was loaded with roll film, to fill the empty space in the back and to prevent light coming through the little side door and spoil the film. When the camera was used with double glass plate holders, the insert was taken out and the side door then permitted to insert the plate holder.

The second video shows the No. 2 Bull's-Eye Special. It can only take film, so there's no side door. Both cameras are fixed focus, meaning that the pitures where sharp from a few feet onwards. Not having to focus the camera made the instrument more simple to use. It is clear that these models were intended for the amateur who only wanted to take some snaps. The instruments were more expensive, US $ 18 and $ 15, than the regular models, and were aimed at the buyer with a bit more $$ to spend. The "poorer" snapshooter had to do with a camera with meniscus lens and simple rotating shutter.

A couple of days ago I received an invitation from the Fotogeschichte journal to write a small article about Theodor Scheimpflug. The journal is aimed at the professional photographer and photo historian and I am going to add some information about the context of Scheimpflug's work and inventions.

A mystery Bullet and some news on Theodor Scheimpflug

Lets start with the pink colored Beau Brownie from my last blogpost. It was sold for US $ 1525 and received 21 bids. It's nice to see that some fine cameras are still valued by collectors. Congratulations to the winning bidder! S/he surely has added a magnificent item to the collection.

Maybe, just maybe, later this year there will be some sort of event in Vienna to commemorate Scheimpflug's 100th dying day. I got that message from a professor at the Technical University of Vienna, and he will keep me informed. It certainly would be nice if the event took place. Also there is a chance that additional information on Scheimpflug will surface. I'm curious what it will be.
I uploaded the first part of my Scheimpflug article to the 'Scheimpflug File' on my website. It is in Dutch. I still have plans to translate it in German or English, but I have so many plans.... A day should have 48 hours!

Then there is a question about a rare and early Kodak box camera from 1895. It is the original version of the No. 2 Bullet camera, an Eastman copy of the historical important Boston Bull's-Eye box from 1892. According to literature the Bullet was only made during a short period, say 1895. In 1896 it was replaced with an improved model.
I received a question from a collector who has a 'normal' Bullet model and a Bullet model of '98. That is very strange, because in 1898 the original model was long replaced by the improved model. My idea is that the bottom of the camera, with the text about the model, was later replaced with a panel from the improved version. But... that is just a theory. Question: who has another No. 2 Bullet of the first version, with a Model '98 designation inside?

On the right the 'normal' model of the Bullet '95, with no text printed on the panels. On the left the mystery model. Both have Tisdell shutter, D-shaped red window and screw in the bottom to attach the mechanism to the box.

B.t.w., I'm still looking for a nice example of the orginal Bullet. I have one, but it has fake crocodile leather that is not original. Anyone wanting to sell his Bullet?

In Atmospheric Light

This week I had some minutes left between two meetings in the city and so I strolled into the bookshop. There I discovered a book with wonderful photos on the discount table. The title is "In Atmospheric Light : Pictorialism in Dutch Photography 1890 - 1925". It was published on occasion of an exhibition in 2010.
The book starts with an introduction on pictorialism, a movement around 1900 that tried to establish photography as art with a capital A. Then it continues with about 100 photographs of 12 Dutch photographers, like Hernri Berssenbrugge, Bernard Eilers and Johan Huijsen. One of my favorites is a 1909 bromoil print by Bernard Eilers, called Trafalgar Square.

Also I have been experimenting with the embedding in my website of my videos on YouTube. I had it working in this blog to show them in a continuous loop, but I couldn't get it to work in my website. At last I copied the HTML part from the blogpage to the website and then it worked. But... only in Internet Explorer. I can't get it to work in Firefox or Google Chrome. Well, the videos didn't run in a loop before with these browsers, so I leave it to that. The only thing I can do with new videos is to repeate a video twice, so that the camera makes two turnes on the table.

There's not much going on at eBay, but one camera is rather special. It is a pink No. 2A Beau Brownie, with case and instruction booklet. The set is extremely rare. Price at the moment is US $ 375 and still 4 days to go. If you want one of these, go for it now.

Photohistorisch Tijdschrift & No. 4 Bullet Special Model '98

This week issue # 3 of the PHT (Photohistorisch Tijdschrift), the Dutch photographica collectors magazine, dropped on the door mat. In it a number of interesting stories about Goerz AG, Pierre Angenieux, AGFA and Zeiss Ikon films. Also in it my Scheimpflug article, part 1. For the first time the magazine printed a QR code. When you scan it with a smart phone or webcam, and if you have a QR code reader installed, it takes you to Flickr, where I have gathered more than 40 photographs about Scheimpflug. The idea is that if you are reading the article and want to find out more, you simple can scan the code and get additional information. It works with a computer with webcam, but QR codes are used primarily with smart phones. I wonder how many view I get on Flickr.

This week I changed the home page of my website so that it is not so static. I used to tell about the importance of George Eastman and what you could find on my site, but that hardly changes, so I dumped it all and replaced it with a video and a few words on the newest addition to the site. In this case the Scheimpflug File.
I also added a new camera video to the site. It's about the No. 4 Bullet Special, Model '98. I have had that camera for many years, but for some reason I never had made a video of it.
Until now all the video's are uploaded to my provider, but with the Bullet I tried YouTube. It works well, but I haven't found how I can run the video in a loop, so that the camera seems to turn round and round without ever stopping. I will have to experiment a bit more before I am satisfied, but here it is. You can find the additional text on my site.
Update: I found out how to let it run in a loop. Result below:

My first movie production

I've been very busy with lots of things lately: my job (which costs many leisure hours), writing some chapters of my new Alix Janvier detective novel, and making a film. Well, don't take that too serious, but nevertheless it did cost quite a bit of time. The film of nearly 6 minutes is a kind of 'artists impression' of the life and time of Theodor Scheimpflug. It started as a little experiment to put some photos together with Windows Movie Maker and transform them into a old silent movie. But the new version of Windows Live Movie Maker doesn't have the 'old film' filter anymore, so I had to install the old version on my new computer. On the other hand the old version does not have the nice zoom and pan functions of the new version. So I ended up zooming and panning the photos in one version, save them as a fragment of film, import them in the old version and make them look like an 'old movie' there.
Then I had the idea to search for original snippets of old film on the internet. There's a lot out there, so I used some footage of blimps, balloons and street life in my own film. It was much fun doing all this, and I also found some very nice sources of old movies on the internet.
But enough about all that. Of course you can't wait to see my moving picture. Polish up your German, because to stay in tune with the language of Scheimpflug I made the text between the fragments in that language.
So, turn on the gas in the projector, open the stage curtains and watch the screen!

Old movies

While I was experimenting with Windows Live Movie Maker to make an 'artists impression' of the life and times of Theodor Scheimpflug, I came across the Internet Archive. This is a remarkable library of online content, a real treasure trove of old journals, texts, music, audio recordings and early films. I did know the Archive from my search for Scheimpflug articles, but I didn't know that they had so many early movies. Try this link for a sample of silent films.
The best thing is that you can download the films and save them on your harddisk or use them in a film of your own. I downloaded a 1940's film about the history of aviation and took some scenes from it to use in my Scheimpflug film.
Have a look at the Internet Archive and while you are doing so, see if you can find some old photography magazines. You can read them from cover to cover, download them and search trough them, full text.
Below is a sample of a real old piece of film: Leeds Bridge, filmed by LePrince in 1888.

Theodor Scheimpflug File online

Imagine you're back in the year 1900. The automobiles look like carriages without a horse. Most people have never seen one in real life. It is only a couple of years ago that moving images were projected on a wall and if you want to see one, you have to go to a big city a have the luck that a movie theatre is part of the fair.
There are still many white areas on the map of the earth. Flying is only for the birds or the happy few people that are so rich they can afford to fill a balloon with gas and so adventurous they dare to step into the basket.

In this time an Austrian naval officer with the name Theodor Scheimpflug is working hard to realise his dream, his vision. He is building a 8-lens panoramic plate camera and is experimenting with kites to lift the camera some 1000 or 2000 metres in the air. With an electrical device he triggers the 8 shutters and takes 8 photos at the same time of a area of 100 square kilometres or more. Then he invents an instrument to correct the perspective of the photos, so that every object in it is depicted at the same scale, regardless of the angle of the camera when the photo was taken. When that is done he puts the 8 pictures together to form one areal view. It is as accurate as a map. You can even use it as a map.

If you want to read all about it, go to my Theodor Scheimpflug File. There I have gathered all his articles and all the important articles that were written since his death in 1911. It is for the first time that this information can be found in one place. Some of it is available elsewhere in the deep web, but much was scanned from the original paper sources and is available in digital form for the first time.
The Theodor Scheimpflug File also contains more than 40 photographs and illustrations, depicting his life, world and work.
With this file I want to commemorate the 100th dying day of Hauptmann Scheimpflug (August 22). Some photographers still know the Scheimpflug rule, but very few people know what he really achieved. I hope the file will help to change that.
I have spent many hours searching for the documents and photographs, but without the help of some people in Austria I never would have succeeded in bringing it all together. I want to thank them all very much for their kind help.

eBay watch and more

The old beauties of my last blog sold for lots of $$. The Francois Kinegraphe changed owner for US $ 2857 and the Tom Thumb went for $ 4870. Too much or not enough? I really don't know, but what I do know is that US $ 2800 or even 4800 is not a small sum for the average working horse like myself.

A some more affordable nicety on eBay is the Vest Pocket Autographic Kodak Special set, with booklet, box and sample photo. The Specials were the models with the better lenses and this one has a focusing F 6.9 Kodak Anastigmat. A very nice set if you want to add a fine VPK to your collection of VPK's or if you want to have a VPK, but not one of the simple ones that you can buy by the dozen. You can buy it now for US $ 200, but international shipping is another $ 40.

The Scheimpflug File is still growing. I have 14 publications by Theodor Scheimpflug now, and that are his complete works about aero-cartography according to the 1956 Festschrift. Of one publication I have only a part. It is a series of letters to the Photographische Korrespondenz of 1908-1909. I will try to get the rest as well.
About Theodor and his work I have 12 documents, with all the important publications included. Even the 90 page Festschrift is there as a PDF.
Then I have 4 Scheimpflug patents and 1 Carpentier patent and an article about the 1914 Fishamend disaster where Gustav Kammerer, technical leader of the Scheimpflug Institute after Theodor's death, was killed in a blimp accident, together with a number of military persons.
I believe this is the most comprehensive collection of digital files on Theodor Scheimpflug. Next week, on August 1, I will make it available online. In August it is 100 years ago that Scheimpflug died, on the 22nd of that month, to be precise.

Old graveyard & old beauties

I had a look again at the photos I made a month ago of the old graveyard in Roermond and discovered some raw material that contained a nice picture. Here's one of them.

eBay watch

The original 1888 Kodak with case on eBay sold for a meagre US$ 2000. That is about € 1415 and by far not enough for this camera. What a shame (but luck for the buyer)!

Another rare and very beautiful camera that is for sale at the moment is a Francais Kinegraphe Twin Lens Reflex from about 1887. I would love to have it, but it doesn't fit into my collection of early Kodaks and until that one is complete I do not buy other cameras. Or do I...? Well, this one is tempting... Who will distract me with a fine A Daylight for sale, or a No. 5 Folding Kodet Special?

The Kinegraphe has only 1 and a half day to go, price at the moment for this beauty in wood is US$ 2225 after six bids.

A second fine and rare camera is a Tom Thumb camera in its wooden box. I don't know much about this one (didn't look for info), but it is a wonderful set. Still 3 days to go and the price is US$ 3450 after one bid.

Articles I'm looking for

Here's a list of Scheimpflug articles which I am still trying to find in digital or paper version. Most frustrating is that some of them are available as digital file, but only in the USA.
If anyone has access to one of the journals or books, I would appreciate it if s/he would scan the articles and mail them to me. Or download the whole file of a journal and mail it to jerdkamp@hotmail.com.

Die maritime und militärische Bedeutung der Photogrammetrie, in: Mitteilungen aus dem Gebiete des Seewesens, 1898.
http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015073460506 available only in the USA


Über Drachenverwendung zur See, in: Mitteilungen aus dem Gebiete des Seewesens, 1904.
http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015073460431 available only in the USA


Der Photoperspektograph und seine Anwendung, in: Photographische Korrespondenz, vol. 43 (1906), p. 516-531
This volume not found as a digital file.


Qui s’excuse, s’accuse! Zur Verziehung von Zeichnungen auf photographischem Wege, In Sachsen A. Nadherny, in: Photographische Korrespondenz, vol. 45 (1908), p. 360-361, 432-435, 528-530, vol. 46 (1909), p. 42, 119-121.
This volume not found as a digital file.


Photogrammétrie du ballon, Cinquième Conférence de la Commission Internationale pour L’aérostation Scientifique à Milan 1903, Procès-verbeaux des Séances et Mémoires, Strasbourg, 1907, p. 76-95
http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015021075851 available only in the USA

Addition to this blogpost:
See Ake's comment! It works! Thanks!

eBay watch and Scheimpflug file

The most interesting early Kodak on eBay at the moment is a nice example of the original 1888 model. It comes with a case and doesn't look too bad. Some scuffing and a chip in the leather on one side. Still 7 days to go. I wonder what it will do.

In the past week I have added some more articles to the Scheimpflug file, but there are six more articles I would like to get. Three of them are available in digital form, but only in the USA. I asked a person I have had contact with in the past if she could download them for me and mail them. I hope this is going to work. If not, I have another person I can ask to help me. Let's see what is going to happen.

One artice I ordered from the library. There is a good chance that I will get it. Two others were published in Photographische Korrespondenz of 1906 and 1908. Both are not available online, as far as I know.

Also I have tried to get a photo of professor Ernst Mayer, the person from whom Scheimpflug heard of photocartography, but to no avail until now.

So, there's still work to do.

25th document in Scheimpflug File

It is amazing how many documents about Scheimpflug I still can find on the deep web. Equally amazing that I didn't find them earlier. But, I must say, most articles are hidden away very well in the deep web. First thing you have to know that there is something like http://www.archive.org/. This is only one of the large online fulltext document repositories. Here you can find an enormous amount of digitized old texts. It helps a lot if you know what journal you are looking for. Then you have to select the right issue and then you have to find the article in the issue. And there's no Google to help you. Well, it is part of my profession to dig up information, so I should be ashamed if I didn't know my way.

Today I added the 25th article to my Scheimpflug File. It is not online yet, but here is a list of documents, just to give you an idea about the contents.

Documents about Theodor

• Theodor Scheimpflug, Festschrift zum 150järigen Bestand des Staatlichen Vermessungswesens in Österreich, 1956, 90 pages.
• Theodor Scheimpflug, sein Leben und seinde Arbeiten, von Prof. E. Dolezal, 1911
• Theodor Scheimpflug, his personality and lifework, by H. Mayer, 1994
• Theodor Scheimpflug, by Karl Peucker, 1913. Sonderabdruck aus der Deutschen Rundschau für Geographie.
• Theodor Scheimpflug, article from Foto Objektiv, 1986
• Festschrift des K.u.K. flugtechnischen Vereins anlässlich der Enthüllung der Gedenktafel für weiland K.u.K. Hauptman des Ruhestandes und Kapitän langer Fahrt Theodor Scheimpflug, welche am 6. Dezember 1913, 11 1/2 Uhr vormittags in Wien XVIII, Sternwartestrasse 39 stattgefunden hat. By Josef Viktor Berger, 1913
• Scheimpflugs landvermessung aus der Luft, article by Gustav Kammerer in Internationales Archiv für Photogrammetrie, 1911 - 1913. Go to page 196
• Theodor Scheimpflug, by J. Radford in The British Journal of Photography, 1978
• Hauptmann Theodor Scheimpflugs Aerophotogrammetrie, by J. v. Berger in Photographische Korrespondenz, 1914
• Auszug aus den Qualifikationslisten 1899, 1900, 1901
• Scheimpflug inventory of the Technisches Museum Wien (spring 2011)
• Scheimpflug inventory of the Wiener Stadt- und Landesarchiv (spring 2011  

Documents written by Theodor

• Die verwendung des Skioptikons zur Herstellung von Karten und Plänen aus Photographien, by Theodor Scheimpflug, 1897. See page 15 in the "Festschrift".
• Über österreichische Versuche, Drachenphotogramma kartographisch zu verwerten, und deren bisherige Resultate, article by Theodor Scheimpflug in Photographische Korrepondenz, 1903.
• Die herstellung von Karten und Plänen auf photographischem Wege, article by Theodor Scheimpflug in Sitzungsberichte der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Klasse, Volume 116, 1906, Wien. Pages 235-266
• Hauptmann Scheinpflugs [sic] Ballonfahrten zum Zwecke photogrammetrischer Terrainaufnahmen, article by Theodor Scheimpflug in Internationales Archiv für Photogrammetrie, I. Band, 1908-1909
• Über orientierung von Ballonaufnahmen, article by Theodor Scheimpflug in Internationales Archiv für Photogrammetrie, II. Band, 1909-1911
• Die Flugtechnik im dienste des Vermessungswesens, article by Theodor Scheimpflug in Buch des Fluges, edited by Hermann Hoernes, 1911
• Erhaltung der Stabilität, wichtigste Formen und Verwendungsarten der Drachen, article by Theodor Scheimpflug in Buch des Fluges, edited by Hermann Hoernes, 1911

Patents

• Scheimpflug GB patent 1904, nr. 1196
• Scheimpflug US patent 1904, nr 751.347
• Scheimpflug US patent 1904, nr 752.596
• Scheimpflug HU patent 1917, nr. 77167
• Carpentier patent 1901, nr. 1139  

Other

• Article in Wiener Bilder of June 28, 1914 about the Fischamend disaster of June 20th.

The Scheimpflug File will be online from August 1, 2011. That month it is a century ago that Theodor died. If someone would like to receive a PDF of an article I will gladly provide it. Just ask.

My pretty great-aunt

Not so long ago I received a mail with a scan of an old group portrait with some of my ancestors on it. The sender is a distant relative and she asked whether I had old familie photos I wanted to share. I have some and we started exchanging photos and information. In the meantime I have uploaded them to Flickr, so everyone can admire them.
What I want to share here is a portrait of a great-aunt, who died at an old age some years ago. In her earlier days she was quite a pretty lady, as you can see here. She never married. What a shame, of was it just wise? I hope she never regretted it.

What else is going on? On the top right of this blog you can see a little photo of my original Folding Pocket Kodak with the original instruction booklet AND my newest treasure: the film box from 1906 / 1907 with a unused roll of film for this camera or the No. 1 Panoram.

Nothing Scheimpflug? Well, a bit. I happened to find the digital online version of Photographische Korrespondenz from 1903 and in this Theodor had published his article:

The article will be available in the Scheimpflug File in August.

Latest addition to my collection

This evening I added a nice item to my collection: a little yellow box with film for the No. 1 Folding Pocket Kodak or No. 1 Panoram. It is not often that I buy things like this, but sometimes I have a go at a rare instruction booklet, a photo made with a Kodak I have, or, like now, a filmbox.

It will be nice with the original FPK I have, the instruction booklet of the original version, a FPK photo and the rare tripod adapter.
Bidding was exiting until the very last second. If I am correct the last bidder did bid the same amount as I, but s/he waited until the last second and I had bid 15 seconds before the end. Well, it is a good thing to know that I am not the only fool on this planet who was willing to pay much $$ for a box of film that is more than a century over its usable date ;)

Scheimpflug again

The Scheimpflug file is growing steadily. Today I added 38 photos to Flickr, all connected to Theodor. With the QR code in the article in Photohistorisch Tijdschift readers will be able to see them on their smart phone or computer, just by scanning the code. The photos will also be part of the Scheimpflug file on my http://www.kodaksefke.eu/ site. After uploading them to Flickr I embedded them in my site as a slideshow. Also I have started to add photos to a map in Flickr. During the next days I will experiment with this, to see what the possibillities are.

A few days ago I was able to locate a Gustav Kammerer portrait on the net, so I have added that one too. Kammerer was Scheimpflugs assistent and co-worker in the second part of the 1900s. He died in a blimp accident in 1914.
Also I have been searching for a photo of prof. Ernst Mayer (1839-1926), the person from whom Theodor first heard about photogrammetry and who triggered his lifelong interest in the matter. Unfortunately I have not been able to find it until now.
The third person who I am going to trace down is Emmy Neumann, friend of Theodor. I have not much hope of finding a photo, but who knows... I have found the digitized address books of Vienna, and maybe they contain some lead to her. You'll be the first to know!

Scheimpflug, graveyard and early Eastman cameras

I'm in the first week of my summer vacation, so there is a lot I am busy with. First of all I am working on the Scheimpflug file on my website. I have 20 documents there, mostly articles from the Scheimpflug days, but also some later articles. It won't be everything that can be found on Theodor, but all the important publications about him are there. As far as I know there is no other place on the net where all these documents can be found together, and I hope that other people who are interested in Scheimpflug will make good use of it. The pic shows a screenshot of the webpage.

The Scheimpflug file will go online around August 11, 2011, when the first part of my article will appear in print in the Photohistorisch Tijdschrift. From the editor I got message that the complete article will be published in two parts. Hurray for that! It will be a total of 10 pages, 6 for the text and 4 for illustrations.

When I was on the old cemetary of Roermond I missed a camera with swing back or swing lens panel. When photographing a rusted fence I would like to get the fence sharp from front to end, but the background as out of focus as could be. A swing back and the Scheimpflug rule would have done that, but now I had to use the tele setting of my zoom lens and use diafragm 2.8.

After the first shooting at the graveyard I went back the next day to retry some shots, but the light was different so no second chance to catch the first impression. I made some new pics and here's one of them.

At eBay there are two interesting cameras: a No. 1 Kodak with its case and an Eastman Interchangeable View.

Old cemetary photos

I have lived for over half a century in the vicinity of Roermond, but I never visited the old cemetary there before today. This morning I took my camera (digital) and gave it a try. Well, I was completely overwhelmed. It is large, neglected and beautiful, a true treasure trove of rusted iron ornaments, worn and crumbling stone slabs, large trees and a myriad of wonderful details. Time is almost tangible there. I hope nobody gets the idea to restore it. Man must become dust, iron must become rust and stone must crumble to sand. Time does it all and in this graveyard you can see it at work.
Enough of preaching, let's see some pics.

Scheimpflug article finally finished

It has taken me some time, but yes, this afternoon I finished my Scheimpflug article. What started as an idea about a short story to commemorate his 100th dying day, ended as a 6100 word article with 20 pictures. I just hope the editor is going to accept it, because it will take up about 9 or 10 pages. But I think it is worth the space. The story contains much information that is hard to find or expensive to get. Many original articles were published before the Great War and if you want to read them you have to order copies from a university. I believe a number of illustrations for my story have not been published for 90 or 100 years and some have been taken for me especially.

I intend to put all the sources and pictures on the internet, free for everyone to use, as far as rights permit. The written sources will be gathered in the Scheimpflug file, a special part of my http://www.kodaksefke.eu/ website. The photos will be available at Flickr. My article will contain a QR code to take you to the photos directly. I'm planning to make them public in August. The 22nd would be a good day, but it depends on the publication date of the Photohistorisch Tijdschrift. The files must be online when the journal drops on the doormat.

To celebrate the day I show you another nice pic of Theo with a Hargrave kite. The panoramic camera was attached between the rods of the kite, to protect it when the kite would crash.

Earliest flying machines & other antiques

The photo in my last blog led me to the book 'Buch des Fluges' by Hermann Hoernes, published in 1911. In it I found the photo of the man and woman with a Nikel kite, just as I had hoped. But to my surprise I found two more photos, made at the same location, with two other models of kites. The article of which they are part, is written by Theodor Scheimpflug, and he tells that he not just experimented with the Nikel kite, but also with the two other models. So now I have three Scheimpflug kite pics!
The old book is absolutely fascinating, with lots of articles and photos of the earlies aeroplanes and Zeppelins, blimps, balloons and kites. Here's one illustration from the book, so you can enjoy it a wee bit also. It's a pity I have to return it to the library of the university of Groningen...

I'm still busy with the Scheimpflug article. Information keeps popping up and I just can't ignore it. But this weekend I must give it the final touch and then it is ready. ...At least I think so... if no other facts creep into my computer or surprise me in the mail. We'll see.

The Boston Bulls Eye in wood finish and super condition went for a mere US $ 334. Not enough I would say, but the market makes the price, not I.
There are a few interesting old Kodaks on eBay just now. A No. 3 Kodak Junior and a No. 3 Zenith box. Both are not seen so very often, the Zenith being the rarest.

A little update

I'm still working hard om the Scheimpflug article, with new information popping up now and then. Now I am trailing down a photo of Theodor Scheimpflug with a Nikel kite. I have it in low resolution and am trying to get a better one. Also it would be nice to get a confirmation that the male in the pic is indeed Theodor.

Somewhere I did read that there was a woman who often accompanied Theo when he tested his kites and cameras, but I can't find it anymore. That annoys me terribly. I must have it somewhere...

The editing of the text is nearly done. I'm at nearly 5000 words and have 18 illustrations. Hope the editor of the journal won't mind.

At eBay there's a Boston Bull's Eye in very fine wood finish. Go see it. Only two days left. If you want one, get this one.