(Dr A. Nagel), Stuttgart, Germany. Namias, Prof. Narciss
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Nagel Werk (Dr A. Nagel), Stuttgart, Germany. Dr Nagel was a brilliant camera executive at Contessa-Nettel, who moved into and then out of Zeiss Ikon to found his own firm in Stuttgart, designing and making the first camera in his kitchen at home, and later selling the products through R.F.Hunter in the UK in 1928-1929. (B.J.A. 1929, p294). After a few years, he sold the company to Kodak for the German eg. Retina programme. He bought in lenses for the top models such as the Pupille and Vollenda from Schneider and Leitz, but the plainer models were fitted with Nagel Anastigmats. Some had Dallmeyer lenses in 1929. A Laudar lens is not a recognised T.N. but may also be bought in. Laudar f4.5 105, 120, 135mm It was fitted to several folders as one of the lower cost options, but where the Nagel anastigmat was also offered, the Laudar was the more expensive, as on the Anca 6x9cm, at Anastigmat, 71; and Laudar, 82RM in Ibsors. It was also 6.5x11cm on the Librette, and for 9x12cm on the Fornidar and on both sizes 6x9 and 9x12 of Recomar in 1931. An example of the f4.5/135mm was No339,94x in a rimset Compur on a 9x12 Tropical. For Vollenda 3x2in see B.J.A. 1930, p307, 664advert., with f6.3 and f4.5 Nagel lenses. Nagel Anastigmat f4.5, f6.3, f6.8 The f6.8/4.25in(?) was noted on the No65 for 3.25x2.25in rollfilm. The f4.5/105mm(?) was also on the No74 for 3.25x2.25in rollfilm, and on the No18 plate camera for 3.5x2.5in. 50mm f4.5 Later it was used as a 50mm f4.5 on the 3x4cm Ranca (B.J.A. 1932, p288). Most are the 105mm on 6x9 folders. That seen was No250,58x, and seems to be a triplet. A serial number as big as this may be the lens makers, or include a models number or source code. It seems to be biggish serial number for a not-very-long- lived maker. Later of course, Nagel became part of Kodak in 1931, and the house- brand then was the Kodak Anastigmat f8.8, f7.7, f6.3, f4.5/105mm on the Junior 6x9 folder;and so on. Namias, Prof. Esculine lens A soft focus lens for portraiture made in the 1920's. The camera fitted with it was by Ganzini, Namias and Co, Milano, Italy. An R. Namias is mentioned in Eder, p366 as working on colour materials in 1909. Narciss (USSR) Subminiature SLR camera fitted with one of the following lenses: (a) Mir-5 f2.8 28mm: (b) MIR-6 f2.0 28mm: (c) Vega f2.8 35mm. National Optical Co., Leicester, UK.(NOCO) This firm was a daughter factory for TTH of Leicester during the WW2 when there was a need to split production capacity as a precaution against destruction. There was also an advantage in moving some production away from London which was much more open to air attack, and where plants included Ross, Wray and Dallmeyer in the area. As indicated under TTH there is a slight feeling that it was getting into operation in the late 1930's, with low value products, and a Pathex cine lens may support this. It continued for a short time postwar as shown by the Trinol, f2/5cm NOC and a f3.5/50mm cine lens, and then was run down as no longer needed. (During the War TTH grew from 2 factories to no less than 9 with up to 1450 employees. Postwar shrinkage was a problem as it needed to be done sympathetically and not all the personnel had old occupations to return to.) The nature of the war products is not well studied but at least some aerial lenses such as the f2.9/8in are engraved with the NOC or NOCO mark, and this may in fact represent many where no engraving was used- most ex-WD lenses lack a makers name. A tentative guess is that some of their lenses were coded UU- [see Dallmeyer, Big Bertha.] An AVIAR type f5.6/14in was noted at serial no TT285,27x which may be by TTH themselves- so that NOC lenses were distinguished this way. Pathex Anastigmat f2.5-f14, for Pathescope 'E' to Pat. No. 438,605, which seems on examination to be a Triplet. This is an uncoated lens, interchangeable, and looks to be 1936 or so, in line with B.J.A. 1937, p291 which notes a Pathescope Model H with such a lens. Others have been noted since. They were listed in W. Heaton's Blue Book for 1938, 1939 but without saying who made the Pathex. Ariel's list has several, mainly on postwar cameras, but possibly older lenses. But it is possible that National went on supplying the Pathex sales, perhaps as follows: Pathex 1in Anastigmat f2.5 12.5mm Known WW2 lenses Anastigmat ? 1.5in (c.38mm) In WW2 these were used on the G.O.C. Recorder camera for 16mm film and after the War were reused by C.L.Thomson as at f8 they covered 23x25mm in a specially built stereo camera. (B.J.A. 1957, p147, B.J. 02/11/1956, p554). [The G.O.C. may be related to the G45 with its Dallmeyer lenses.] (Pentac) f2.9 8in This was engraved NOC but not Pentac which was a Dallmeyer T.N. Trinol f3.5 105mm This was a triplet (TRIplet National Optical Ltd) carrying TTH patent details which was sold to Stewartry of Glasgow to mount for cameras such as M39x26 and Exakta. It may well have been originally a wartime lens design, possible for a 6x6cm dial recording camera, and is of good but not outstanding performance. Early versions at Nos 034,94x, 035,04x, 35,05x, 035,32x, 035,62x are not coated, later ones have a hard coating at Nos 035,49x and 035,78x- note that there is overlap, possible due to parts being in hand when coating started. [It was definitely aimed at Leica sales as the Reid was only demonstrated in 1947, and no bodies sold for some time by when Trinol sales were a thing of the past.] Lenses for Exakta tend to be late in production, which seems to have stopped rather suddenly. Lensheads carry Pat. No. Brit. 566,698 and Canadian 435,629/1946. Some lensheads were later sold separately about 1956, and No036,50x was noted on a Novoflex bellows for Wrayflex. One problem is that these serial numbers do not seem to fit with either the prewar uncoated or the postwar coated cine lenses- ie a separate series was used. (see the f2 below and the f3.5/50mm cine.) Fig 012 017 Stewartry lenses: (l) Definex (Ross) f3.5/89mm (Contax), (r) Definex for M39; and (m) f3.5/105mm Trinol for M39. National Optical f2.0 50mm 6-glass Gauss. This was sold generally for coupled M39x26, and is remembered from about 1955: the low price made many end up on Periflex cameras where no coupling was needed. The external surface curves match those of the TTH Amotal f2.0 lens made for the Bell and Howell Photon and the rear one differs significantly from the Reid f2.0 lens, which is a slightly later design, and looks rather alike. However the Reid lens is in a Reid mount, while the NOC has a focusing mount marked C&P. It seems that the NOC is well preferable to Amotals remounted for M39x26 as these are an earlier coating and the alloy mounts are less long lived, often with worn focus threads today. One seen was No354,19x. The original price was not one where a maker would launch a product but rather a special opportunity- which it certainly was! The lenses were covered by Brit Pats No3,77,537,4,61,304,507184, 566,698 and Can. Pat. 435,629/1946. In comparison the Reid lens carries also Brit Pat 587,090 and US Pat. 1,955,591 and 2,117,252. 011 029 TTH Ltd (l) Amotal f2/50mm No300,544; (m) Reid lens f2/50mm 328,829; (r) NOC f2/50mm No354,196. All coupled for M39. The f2 NOC is not a common lens while the Trinol is usually available if looked for. The Pathex probably will be found as an unconsidered trifle on the Pathe camera, while the ex-WD lenses are hard to discuss as few are fully engraved. Projection f1.5 4in (Anon) f3.5 50mm This was noted for 8mm cine at No478,56x coated and in a white postwar mount. It seems nicely made but a fairly simple design. Fig 020 027 TTH lenses on Bell&Howell 8mm cameras, (left ) Ivotal f1.4/0.5in; Serital f1.5/1in; Serital f1.9/1.5in: (right body) Ivotal f1.4/0.5in; Pelotal f1.75/0.25in; Serital f1.9/1.5in: (Mid Front) NOC f3.5/2in No478,563. It is worth comparing this serial number with TTH cine lenses of rather the same sort of period, as with a Serital at No473,29x. They may just be in the same series and suggest: It may be that part of the NOC facilities in fact was taken up postwar to make some of the cine lenses for Bell&Howell cameras but this is a complete surmise, as is the idea that the TTH Talykron shutter and some of the Bell & Howell UK cine cameras were made in facilities continued from the war: and that ultimately these proved uneconomic and were discontinued.