Like its close rival Ross, the Kershaw brand dates to the latter half of the 19th Century, and was therefore among the first generation of makers to design lenses for projection. The story of A. Kershaw & Sons is briefly recapped in this article, explaining its intertwining with the Gaumont and Kalee brands en-route to temporary digestion by the Rank combine, followed by its expulsion and demise. All ‘Gaumont-Kalee’ branded projection lenses were made by Kershaw in Leeds during the Rank period (1947-1958).
In the minds of many photographers and enthusiasts the history of camera optics is dominated by German and Japanese makers – at least the mid-century ‘glory days’ within reach of living memory that seem more appealing that the post-1980s reality of American and Chinese dominance. But before either period, and viewed by many as the real golden age, fin-de-siecle Britain and France, in the waning years of Empire, had industries and engines of optical innovation at least equal to Germany.
Sadly, one A. Kershaw’s core specialisms – the production of cine and cine projection lenses – placed it in direct competition with Schneider, Bausch & Lomb and Taylor Hobson, which inevitably doomed its efforts to that of ‘also-ran’. Few of their lenses command high valuations: they are currently cheap and plentiful on the used market. Some of their product ranges track the offerings of Ross so closely, you might wonder whether they were the result of pooled production. We leave this question for another article: here we identify and differentiate the lenses themselves and provide a chronological outline tied to serial numbers.
In 1933 it was recorded that 76% of cinemas in the UK were equipped with Kalee 35mm projection systems. That year saw the launch of their first Kalee N.P.3. 16mm projector by the company’s Soho Ltd subsidiary. However the glass didn’t come from Leeds: the N.P.3 was initally fitted with a Dallmeyer Superlite 2″ lens. The Kalee brand first appeared c.1910 – a combine of Kershaw, A, LEEds.
Series A
Cinematograph Lenses fitted (for instance) to Indomitable 6-8 Series projectors in foci from 3-7 inches.
| Lens Designation | Aperture | Elements | Production | Notes |
| 3 inch | ||||
| 4 inch | 3881 | |||
| 5¼ inch | 4754 | |||
| 6 inch | 5007 | |||
| 7 inch | ||||
Series B
| Lens Designation | Aperture | Elements | Production | Notes |
| 6 inch | 11997 12064 | |||
Series C (35mm Super Cine Projection – f2.2)
| Lens Designation | Aperture | Elements | Production | Notes |
| Super Projection 4 inch | ||||
| Super Projection 4¼ inch | ||||
| Super Projection 4½ inch (112mm) | 40260 40768 | |||
| Super Projection 4¾ inch (120mm) ‘Kalee’ 4¾ inch | 40697 40133 | |||
| Super Projection 5 inch | ||||
| Super Projection 5¼ inch | ||||
| Super Projection 5½ inch | ||||
| Super Projection 5¾ inch | ||||
| Super Projection 6 inch (152mm) | 41323 | |||
| Super Projection 6¼ inch | ||||
| Super Projection 6½ inch | ||||
| Super Projection 6¾ inch (171mm) | f2.17 | 40808 |
Series H
1947-1958 production of f2.2 lenses branded Gaumont-Kalee, or ‘Kalee’ only.
| Lens Designation | Aperture | Elements | Production | Serials |
| 4 inch (102mm) Kalee | f2.2 | 4277? | ||
| 133mm | ||||
Series K
35mm cinema projection lenses (f1.9) in 70.5mm barrels. Most are marked ‘Bloomed’, designating single-coating.
| Lens Designation | Aperture | Elements | Production | Serials |
| 4 inch (102mm) | f1.9 | 1709 | ||
| 4¼ inch (108mm) | f1.9 | 2833 – 8191 | ||
| 4½ inch (114mm) | f1.9 | 1613 | ||
| 4¾ inch (121mm) Kalee 70.5mm | f1.9 | 2533 | ||
| 5 inch (127mm) | f1.9 | 1127 | ||
| 5¼ inch (133mm) | f1.9 | 1199 – 2910 | ||
| 6¼ inch (159mm) | f1.9 | 3015 | ||
Series S
70mm cinema projection lenses in 70.5mm barrels marked ‘Gaumont-Kalee’ fitted between 1947-1958 (for instance) to post-1955 Kalee GK40 projectors. Most are marked ‘Bloomed’, designating single-coating.
| Lens Designation | Aperture | Elements | Production | Serials |
| 3½ inch (89mm) | f2.0 | 80503 | ||
| 3¾ inch (95mm) | f2.0 | 82447 – 82414 | ||
| 4 inch (101.5mm) | f1.9 | 78687 | ||
| 4¾ inch (121mm) | f1.9 | 90635 | ||
| 5½ inch (133.5mm) | f1.9 | 80364 | ||
| 5¾ inch (146mm) | f1.9 | 85234 | ||
| 6 inch (152mm) | f1.9 | 85272 | ||
| 6¼ inch (159mm) | f1.9 | |||
| 7¾ inch (197mm) | f1.9 | 86756 | ||
| 8½ inch (220mm) | f1.9 | 85953 |
Series T
‘Title’ lenses fitted (for instance) to Kalee Indomitable 6-8 series in foci from 8 to 28 inches
| Lens Designation | Aperture | Elements | Production | Notes |
| 8 inch | ||||
| … | ||||
| 28 inch |
Type 250
Lenses marked Type 250 were fitted to Kershaw Model K.250 / 500 film strip projectors. The later four-element version of the 102mm lens (marked in metric only) is notably superior to the three-element 4-inch lens and is a fine capture optic for formats up to and including GFX.
| Lens Designation | Aperture | Elements | Production | Notes |
| 50mm (2″) f2.8 | f2.8 | |||
| 76mm (3″) f2.8 | f2.8 | |||
| 102mm f2.8 (4″) [V1] | f2.8 | 3 | ||
| 102mm f2.8 [V2] | f2.8 | 4 | ||
| 152mm (6″) f2.8 | f2.8 | |||
| 152mm (6″) f3.5 | f3.5 |