Voigtländer brass Petzval portrait lens · c. 1865, ~5-inch
Brass Petzval portrait lens by Voigtländer, Vienna era, ~5-inch focal length. Original stops, rack focus smooth, glass unetched.
- SKU
- MS-OM-0009
- Era
- Pre-1900
- Condition
- Excellent optics; original waterhouse stops (3), rack focus smooth
- Dimensions
- 6.5 in overall length, 3.25 in flange diameter
- Weight
- 3.1 lb
- Provenance
- From a wet-plate photographer's estate; used continuously until 2019.
- Category
- Antique Media & Optics
- Tags
- petzvalbrass-lensvoigtlanderwet-plateportrait
A brass Petzval portrait lens by Voigtländer, engraved 'Voigtländer & Sohn in Wien' with a serial dating it to roughly 1865. Focal length measures approximately 5 inches (127mm); coverage suits quarter-plate to half-plate wet-collodion work. Glass is unetched, cement lines are tight, and the characteristic swirl bokeh is fully present at full aperture.
Joseph Petzval's 1840 portrait design was the first mathematically-computed photographic lens and reduced exposure times from minutes to seconds—it is not a stretch to say it made the portrait industry possible. Voigtländer built them under license from the outset. Original set of three Waterhouse stops slot cleanly; rack-and-pinion focus is smooth without backlash. Mount is period brass, unpolished.
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