Acquired 3 lens boards but don't know much about them

Last summer I acquired 3 lens boards but don't know much about them. There were part of a huge collection of photographic equipment from an 80 year old man. I have been shooting with 35 cameras since the 1970s and know a thing or two, but this is different. I have learned a bit. Now I know that there is magnification factor with large format. all are in very nice condtion and the boards are 4 inches square. One is a Wollensack f6.3 21 cm (210mm) with a press compur shutter. I know Carl Zeiss Jena has a reputation for quality,

One is a Rapax Wollensack 90 mm f6.8 raptar on a silver board some sort of metal. The third one is also a Rapax Wollensack 90 mm f6.8 raptar. This one on a black wooden board marked Burke and James Chicago.

I am asking for a bit of info about how I can use these and what they may be worth.

 

Size? Thickness? Profile?

 

Nearly all lensboards look much the same at a distance, and they're pretty much a disposable item. It's the lenses and shutters that have the most value, and they can be easily transferred to the lensboard of almost any other camera.

 

Also, a smaller board can sometimes be mounted onto, or into, a larger adapter board for another camera.

 

The boards look quite small in comparison to the shutter size. Together with the synchroniser solenoids, I'm guessing they might fit a Graflex press camera, but without knowing the dimensions it's hard to tell for sure.

 

Also, lens condition and shutter functionality will greatly affect their value.

I'll take a wild guess. The one of the left looks like it fits an old Calumet 4x5. Maybe DIY. If it has a ridge on the back it would be factory, but it could fit a lot of things. The two on the right are almost certainly Graflex. The Rapax would have been common on those and the Zeizz certainly a nice upgrade. Note that it's using a Press-Compur shutter.

The one of the left looks like it fits an old Calumet 4x5.

The material looks like black painted plywood, so I was also thinking it was a DIY job. The size doesn't look too disimilar to the Graflex boards. Maybe they all came off the same camera?

 

But then why would you have two WA Raptars for the same camera?

The two on the right are metal boards for Pacemaker Graphic cameras. Measure them, boards for 4x5 Pacemakers are 3 23/32" x 3 21/32", for 3x4 Pacemakers are 3 3/16" x 3 19/64".

 

The 4"x4" (I b'lieve you measured it and assumed the others were identical, they aren't) wooden board is original issue for 4x5 Pre-Anniversary or Anniversary Speed Graphics.

 

The original owner was an accumulator or had an Anny (or Pre-Anny) Speed and a Pacemaker (Speed or Crown). That's why two 90/6.8s on incompatible boards.

 

Re the 210, you made a typo in y'r original post, it is a CZJ lens, not a "Wollensack." Ain't no "c" in Wollensak.

 

Values? Go see what 4x5 Pacemaker Graphic boards have sold for on eBay. If you're going to sell, sell the lenses and boards separately.

The original owner was an accumulator TRUE

 

 

Thanks for the information.The man who owned all this photographic equipment lost his wife about 10 years earlier and he set about acquiring all sorts of gear. When he died the sons cleaned out the house and found 30,000 books, and around 80 cameras. I bought the entire set of photographic equipment. Many of the items had a basement mildew smell.

I sold some of it. There was one Leica (a beat up iiic) a Kodak Medalist. Those I sold. He had loads of Kodak cameras including old folding cameras and Kodak Retinas and attachment for them. Some things I want to keep, such as a Ricoh Diacord TLR. I sold a Speed Graphic camera from this collection last summer. Now, it seems that these lens were part of that outfit. So if I want to keep one of these I will have to go buy a 4x5 camera to mount it on. That would be a great adventure to get into. That is interesting that if I want to sell them the lenses and boards separately. Thanks again for the info.