Carl Zeiss, 32, Wagnergasse, Jena, Germany. ((1847) Also: 29/II Dorotheen Strasse 29, Berlin, Germany
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Carl Zeiss, 32, Wagnergasse, Jena, Germany. ((1847) also: 29/II Dorotheen strasse 29, Berlin, Germany. (1901) and 29, Margaret St, Regent St, London W (1901) The founder, Carl Zeiss (1816-1888) was born in Weimar, the son of a cabinet maker and ivory carver. He graduated from school in 1834, qualified to be apprenticed to the Grand Dukes Instrument maker, Dr Koerner, and attended academic courses as well as working as apprentice. Next he travelled from Jan. 1838 to Oct. 1845 to study in Stuttgart, Darmstadt, Vienna, and Berlin to broaden his experience. Back at home, he studied chemistry and higher mathematics. By May 1845, he felt well enough qualified to apply to the County Administration at Weimar for permission to found "An establishment for the production of advanced mechanical devices", hoping for a relationship with the University to advance designs. Money was tight with capital of 100 Thalers (possibly £100) only, but in Nov. 1846, he opened at 7, Neugasse. It remained a small business for years, as it took some 20 years for the University relationship to be productive, and he often grew weary of the trial and error methods traditionally used in the trade. Much of the production was of microscopes- often relatively simple ones by modern standards, such as dissection viewers. Then in 1863, a young lecturer Ernst Abbe (1840-1905) joined the University to teach physics and astronomy. Zeiss approached him in 1866 for cooperation in the design of improved systems and this lead to new ideas, eg in the Abbe refractometer (1869), a comparator and a spectrometer. Abbe felt that in lenses the need was for new types of glass with other dispersion properties- not totally novel as others had used natural minerals for the purpose. But Abbe in 1882 induced a young glass chemist Otto Schott (1851-1935, from Witten, Ruhr area) to Jena to help with developing new glass types including Barium, Zinc, Phosphate and Borate: and by 1884, the Jenaer Glaswerke Schott und Genossen was formed. The partners were actually Zeiss, Abbe, Otto Schott and his son, Dr Roderich Schott, and by 1886, they were able to offer a price list of some 46 glass types- and Zeiss issued his 10,000th microscope. The glasses lead immediately to improved microscope lenses made to Abbe designs, and Zeiss expanded from some 42 employees in 1876 to 300 in 1888, at the time of his death. His son did not continue in the firm, and Abbe became the sole owner. The new glasses were also used in improved versions of the classic photographic lenses, as in the Euryscopes of Voigtlaender and the new Aplanats of Steinheil, and others in the industry thought there were other uses possible. It does seem that Abbe discussed these with Steinheil who had made more progress in correction of astigmatism than others, but did not really find the solution. And Abbe also replanned the firm he now owned. Especially for a University man, industrial conditions then seemed harsh, with a 14-17 hour day, 6 day week, no vacations, and no health or old age security, and he felt they were unreasonable since much of the success of a company was due to the employees: and they should share in the benefits. Abbe therefore decided to convert the company into a foundation in 1889, as the basis of a continuing corporate structure, the profits to be shared among the employees in more limited hours, paid leave and assistance with health and pensions, as well as outside assistance to science. This was a recipe for success and the payroll grew steadily to reach 2,300 employees by 1914, as new products such as spectrometers, prismatic binoculars, telescopes, opthalmic lenses- and photographic equipment- came into the product list. It was in the 1880's that Abbe became interested in the problems of photographic lenses and in 1888, he persuaded the mathematical physicist Dr Paul Rudolph (1858-1935) to join him in their design. The new glasses and the working environment proved very effective and in a few years, Rudolph really began the use of most of the modern lens design types. However the very first attempt was at an Triplet Apochromat and was a unsuccessful one. (These are therefore an almost prototypic lens, especially as two types existed. Eder suggests they just existed commercially and one seems to have been auctioned in London at No44.) Subsequently, Rudolph alone produced a series of some 5 or more 'anastigmat' designs using Barium flint and light crown glasses. (Jahrbuch fur Photographie, 1891, p225, also 1893; Patent DRP 56,109 03/04/1890). And then developed into several symmetrical anastigmats and lenses such as the Unar, Planar and Tessar by 1902, as well as early telephoto units.) This lead to Zeiss interests in making camera lenses, their mounts, irises, shutters, and finally cameras, with the purchase of Zeiss Palmos in 1902 and the formation of I.C.A. in 1909. There must have been both elation at the success and sometimes problems in managing it. And Abbe and Schott both combined to give the Jenaer Glas business to the foundation, apparently in 1919 in the case of Schott. Zeiss seem to have made binoculars in small numbers of non-prismatic types. But the design of prismatic binoculars by Abbe in1893 gave higher powers than the older Galilean types ("almost useless in war") and these were licensed by Bausch & Lomb, and widely sold by both firms- in the UK from 1896. The lack of these was noted in South Africa by the British Army as the Boers seemed better supplied there than they were. By 1914, they had tried to catch up, and all armies used prismatics in original form or as copies. The sheer physical expansion of buildings and employees meant construction and training, and these could not occur overnight. Zeiss always paid real interest in training, via apprenticeships but these take time. Thus they licensed others to make the new lens designs and Zeiss Anastigmats can be found made by them today- look for Voigtlaender (Germany, to 1895), Suter ( Switzerland), Ross (UK), Fritsch v. Prokesch (Austria), Koristka (Italy and Bausch and Lomb (USA). About half of the original anastigmats were made under license up to 1900. These do not seem to have prevented Zeiss also supplying these markets as opportunity occurred, as N&G used original Zeiss lenses and Mr W.Hume advertised them. (Brit.Jnl.Alman. 1896; N&G advert. ibid, 1901, p147) The licensing may have been valuable to Zeiss in a way now forgotten- they were not really photographers, and the licensees may have made valuable inputs on mount design and the types of products wanted. These licenses were of variable life, partly as the companies designed their own competing products but also as the first World War made business relations impossible. Remember, it was fought with unique loss of life and ferocity, and left emotions which poisoned business for a generation or more. There seem after the War to be cases of English firms boycotting purchases of German lenses, and of Hollywood looking askance at the new f1.4 Biotar for this reason. There must have been problems, none very serious, in such a rapid expansion. (a) Rudolph tried to introduce a new iris calibration system, or perhaps two, which did not prove popular and was dropped. One version used an iris calibrated in mm diameter- which really needs a set of Tables for use. It may have allowed a standard mount to be supplied with various optics, as with a 'Projection Aplanat' mounted in one, where the value of the iris seems slight. (b) The trade name "Anastigmat" came to be used by others, possibly since it was an 'old' word in ordinary use and not defenceable. (c) The rate of design innovation may have puzzled customers, as f4.5 lenses were introduced as the Anasigmat, Planar, Unar and finally Tessar within a limited period. (d) The shutter making side seems to have lead to the Deckel/Compur works at Munich rather than in-house long-term manufacture. (e) And there seems to have been an attempt to found a business in London in 1909 at Bittacy Hill, for the manufacture or assembly of lenses, perhaps to come within "Imperial Preference" on sales of Empire made goods- which must have ended with the outbreak of war. (f) There seems to have been a problem, perhaps shortlived, with the French patents on some of the lenses as the 1901 Catalogue describes the Planar, Unar and Protar VII as not being for trade sale in France. But overall, it was extremely successful. While World War I must have made them busy with orders for binoculars, aerial lenses and gunsights, perhaps using the new "Erfle" eyepiece (1917) by H.Erfle (1884-1923), peace brought the problems of the depression. In 1926, Zeiss lead the amalgamation of the camera making firms Ernemann, Contessa-Nettel and Goerz with I.C.A. to form Zeiss Ikon. This ended competition with Goerz over optical glass as the Goerz/Sendlingen plant went over to other products, and gave access to the novel Ernostar lens designs- and Carl Zeiss had a secure in-house market for lenses. Over a few years, the group, often as a result of designs by Dr Heinz Kuppenbender, introduced new cameras such as the Ikonta, Super Ikonta, Ikoflex, Movikon, and the 35mm series of Contax, Nettax, Tenax and Contaflex. Several new designers provided important new types of lens- Merte from the 1920's with the Biotar, Richter with the Topogon, and Bertele with the Sonnars are the best known, but this was a design team with unusual strength in numbers as well as ability.The commercial results were impressive, as sales flourished even in the bitter years of the recession, and by 1939, the payroll was 14,000 for Carl Zeiss + Schott and Zeiss Ikon was in addition.