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The Wards Camera Catalog: 1938


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Old catalogs are a treasure and a valuable research tool. A while back in the b/w film forum I was trying to pin down the introduction dates of Super XX and Panatomic X. The picture of 1938 Super X and Panatomic helps close the gap. (I'm thinking about 1940 for those two films.)

BTW, my oldest catalog is a 1965 Lafayette Electronics. It did list a few cameras, including an Ansco rangefinder. Just love old catalogs, still have my 1969 Edmund Scientific. It has a Russian MTO mirror lens listed.

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Danny, thanks for the post! A feast to my eyes!

 

I have only 2 cameras from the catalog: The Bantam Special, whereas mine was made in 1945 (ER) with the coated Ektar f2 lens mounted on a Supermatic shutter, and the popular Argus C3 made in 1946. My Leitz rangefinder is present too! Amidst the film developers, I found the Defender's Formula 777 Panthermic, fine grain developer invented by Harold Harvey. It was used by HCB.

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If you look closely at the "brick" shown, it's not a C3, but a C. They had a non-coupled rangefinder and no connections for flash. You used the rangefinder to find the distance, then set this on the lens, which had its own distance scale. The C2 had a coupled rangefinder, but no flash connections. Then the C3 had both. C2's are actually kind of rare to find today and C's are even more so. C3's are the common ones.

 

What I find interesting is the shipping weight was listed as 2 pounds. A C3 weighs 1 lb, 12 oz, so this only allowed 4 oz for packaging.

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  • 1 year later...

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