Another seminal maker lost to the purview of recent generations, J.H. Dallmeyer was destined for entanglement in the fate of its internecine rival, A. Ross.
John Henry Dallmeyer was the son-in-law of Andrew Ross, and was employed initially in the company’s workshop, then as a scientific advisor. Following the death of Andrew Ross in 1858, Dallmeyer inherited the telescope production resources of A. Ross and set up as a lens producer in his own right. Dallmeyer lenses were in production from 1860 to at least 1983 – the business initially passing from John to his son Thomas in 1883.
Dallmeyer and Ross were eventually reunited: ultimately absorbed into the legacies held in 2024 by G&H Artemis. Dallmeyer was acquired by Watshams Electro-Optics in 1984, which in 1988 begat OMITEC Electro-Optics (son of Watshams), which in 1992 begat Omitec Thin Films (son of Omitec), which was begat by Avimo Europe in 1997 (subsequently known as Avimo Thin Film Technologies and, since 1975, owners of Ross), which in 2001 was begat by Thales Optical Coatings, which in 2006 begat Qioptiq Coatings, which in 2008 begat Artemis Optical (son of Qioptiq by management buyout), which in 2023 was begat by G&H.
Though diminishingly, each of these acquisitions in some way respected the legacy of the house of Dallmeyer, often referencing its century of manufacturing excellence in promotional literature. Post-1988 Lasonar lenses produce by Omitec Electro-Optics were even engraved with the JHD initials of John Henry Dallmeyer.
Dallmeyer’s early history is well documented – partly a function of their collectability: Dallmeyer lenses have recently commanded higher values than comparable Ross or Kershaw optics. Although certain Taylor-Hobson lenses are valuable, others languish in relatively weak demand – whereas almost all Dallmeyers attract a premium.
Dallmeyer Serial Numbers: Sources
Records from the 1863-1902 period digitised by Seán MacKenna between 2008-2011 offer a tantalising glimpse of the beautifully presented and preserved source material documenting Dallmeyer’s history. However, Sean was only really beginning to process and summarise the data, extracted from records held by The Brent Archive in London, when he died in 2012. In 2014, a group of his friends published Sean’s work online in The Dallmeyer Archive, which offers a complete overview of the surviving lens and stock books – but only up to 1902.
Delta’s remit is to ignore the well-known collectables and illuminate the history of ‘special purpose’ optics not intended as taking lenses. However, trying to make sense of Dallmeyer’s output of 20th Century enlarger, projector and industrial lenses brought to light the sketchy nature of previously published timelines (Les Chiffres Cles and Vade Mecum) for Dallmeyer’s 20th century serial numbers. Despite the completeness of The Dallmeyer Archive, it offers only an estimated serial timeline – for instance, placing Dallmeyer lenses with serials 45,000-55,000 between the years 1890-1895.
By analysing (and more often discarding) sections of previously published timelines, collecting hundreds of serials of lenses sold via auction, and with fresh access to previously unpublished sections of the Dallmeyer collection held by The Brent Archive, we have built the following, improved serial number guide.
Dallmeyer Serial Numbers: Knowns and Unknowns
Fortunately for collectors, Dallmeyer’s scheme is of the simple sequential type favoured by British and German manufacturers (AGFA notably excepted). The primary source for the Dallmeyer timeline is the Brent Archive collection. It is surprisingly rare for such material to have survived, and to be accessible to the public. With the conspicuous exceptions of Nikon, Zeiss and Leitz/Leica, few key players of photography’s earliest years made it to the digital era, and their records tended to expire with them, or were salvaged and scattered thinly among collectors. As they sickened in the mid- and late-20th Century, yesterday’s pioneers were gobbled up by investors who treated their legacies with varying degrees of respect. Today’s owners of the Schneider and Rodenstock brands seem barely aware that those names have a past at all. Taylor-Hobson’s new owners at least attempted to unearth its history, and tell its story, but much of the material they inherited had already degraded too far to be useful, and a full reconstruction of their timeline currently seems beyond reach. What remains is at least accessible by appointment in Los Angeles – a long way from Leicester. However, the measure of Dallmeyer’s stature as a manufacturer is that they remained independently owned from 1860 until 1984. In 1980, during an era of dwindling production, the company far-sightedly bequeathed its historic documents to The Brent Archive.
The apple fell close to the tree: for more than a century, Dallmeyer had been based in the north London suburbs of Willesden& Neasden. The old factory building still exists – a short walk from Willesden Library where the sleeved, mounted, bubble-wrapped, re-bound and catalogued volumes are kept underground in an air-conditioned facility. The story they tell is frustratingly incomplete for scholars and collectors, but to understand the Dallmeyer timeline we need to understand the nature of the surviving material in this archive.
It is silent with regard to the happenings of 1860-1863, but between 1863-1904, there is a continuous record of all lenses that left the factory. Remarkably, it is possible to look up any lens you may obtain from this period and not only determine when it was made (more on this below), but to whom it was sold. Somewhat arbitrarily, Dallmeyer labelled the volumes in which this information is contained ‘Stock Books’ and ‘Lens Books’. Also, depending on the year, the information recorded varies. In a good year, we are able to determine which pair of technicians edged and polished the glass, and which pair of technicians lathed, swaged and fitted the barrels.
Dallmeyer’s surviving records afford us the luxury of squabbling over the meaning of ‘production date’. For many lenses made between 1863 and 1902, the date of glass cutting, finishing and exiting the workshop are separately recorded – months (even years) apart. As a typical case, consider a Dallmeyer Patent Stereographic lens with the serial #47,325: technicians Matthews and Webb(?) completed finishing and edging of glass elements on February 11, 1889. However, technicians Morton and Thomas didn’t complete turning and framing the housing until January 1890, and the end product is marked ‘Out of Shop’ on April 6, 1890 – one of a batch of eight. Pick a ‘production’ date . . . .
From many such cases we observe it wasn’t unusual for serialled lenses at the tail-end of a batch to sit on the shelf for a year or more, awaiting sale. This explains, in part, why lenses sold in a given year don’t conform as strictly as one might hope to a specific number range. Stretching correlation further, it also seems that Dallmeyer reserved some serials in advance.
Summarising the first forty or so years of Dallmeyer production, Seán MacKenna favoured the date of production over a date of sale. However, he went no further than providing a range of possible dates corresponding to each volume. We found it possible to narrow that to a suggested beginning and end-point of each year – but present those figures (below) with the caveat that some serials are known to fall outside the range suggested.
Extending the 1860-1903 timeline by another eighty years involved coralling and analysing data from a much less uniform resource set. Perhaps the general trend was for Dallmeyer to record less specific, personal information about who made what – or perhaps those records didn’t survive. There was certainly a shift toward recording the date of sale rather than the date of completion, so post-1903 serials ‘look’ several months later than pre-1903 serials. Lens books are missing for the great majority of these years, but we do have a great deal of dated information about specific prototypes and technical datasheets confirming when a given lens was being worked on. Thousands of these data points were compiled and sorted and any gaps were filled with estimates we have confidence are reliable as a working guide to production dates.
A highly uniform system seems to have been place for some periods, suddenly ‘going fuzzy’ in some years, which seem to have spawned an inconsistent range of serials. The major anomaly collectors should be aware of is that of Pentac serials in 4xx,xxx range: these are out of sequence, for reasons I shall explain below.
Thankfully, though, serial numbers are broadly contiguous within a product range (ie, it’s possibly to build a consistent chronology for longer Perfac lenses), but there isn’t always a direct correlation between one year and one range of serials across Dallmeyer’s output.
Serial Numbers: Dating & Coating
A useful general guide to dating Dallmeyer advertisements and packaging is obtained by cross-checking contact details against Dallmeyer’s migration across several North and Central London locations:
| 1860-1888 | 19 Bloomsbury Street |
| 1888-1913 | 25 Newman Street |
| 1906-Late 1911 | 83 Denzil Rd, Neasden – thereafter moving into the Church End Works occupied by the company until 1983-84, when it ceased trading |
| 1913-1917 | 19,21,23 Oxford Street (offices only) |
| 1920- September 30, 1925 | Carlton House, 11D Regent St, SW1 (offices only) |
| September 30, 1925-1941 | 31 Mortimer St, Oxford St W1 (offices only) |
Coating: To the best of my knowledge, Dallmeyer made lenses that were either uncoated (pre-WWII), or ‘Dallcoated’ after. ‘Dallcoat’ was evidently developed during World War II – comprising the vacuum deposition of Magnesium Flouride onto all lens surfaces. Most of the taking lenses in circulation were single-coated in this way, and as late as 1977 Dallmeyer offered a ‘Dallcoating’ service for lenses of all sizes – with the typical benefits of improved light transmission and resistance to contaminants.
Vade Mecum hazards that Dallcoated lenses appeared around serial number 340,000-350,000 shortly after the end of World War II. The timing is right, but the serials are not: adverts from 1946 already offer Dallcoating as an optional extra for SuperLite projection lenses, which shipped with serial numbers hovering just under the 3xx,xxx mark. A reference to the first Dallcoated lens may still lie undiscovered in the Brent Archive; it’s likely to have a serial number between 28x,xxx and 29x,xxx. Later Dallcoated lenses are marked with a distinctive ‘DC’ logo.
Dallmeyer Serials 1860-1902
Delta’s timeline of this period is based on re-appraisal and error-checking of the material available in The Dallmeyer Archive digitised by Seán MacKenna, first published online in 2014.
| Year | Early January # | Late December # | Annual Production | Notes |
| 1860 | 0 | 1000 | #26 survives | |
| 1861 | 1000 | 2000 | ||
| 1862 | 2000 | 3000 | ||
| 1863 | 3000 | 4500 | ||
| 1864 | 4500 | 7000 | ||
| 1865 | 7000 | 9500 | ||
| 1866 | 9500 | 11000 | ||
| 1867 | 11000 | 13000 | ||
| 1868 | 13000 | 14500 | ||
| 1869 | 14500 | 16000 | ||
| 1870 | 16000 | 17500 | ||
| 1871 | 17500 | 19000 | ||
| 1872 | 19000 | 20000 | ||
| 1873 | 20000 | 21000 | ||
| 1874 | 21000 | 23000 | ||
| 1875 | 23000 | 24000 | ||
| 1876 | 24000 | 25000 | ||
| 1877 | 25000 | 26000 | ||
| 1878 | 26000 | 27500 | ||
| 1879 | 27500 | 28500 | ||
| 1880 | 28500 | 29500 | ||
| 1881 | 29000 | 31000 | ||
| 1882 | 23,632 | 32,321 | ||
| 1883 | 32,405 | 34,338 | ||
| 1884 | 32,228 | 36,612 | ||
| 1885 | 36,625 | 38,409 | 1,784 units | |
| 1886 | 38,453 | 40,455 | 2,002 units | |
| 1887 | 40,568 | 42,441 | 1,873 units | |
| 1888 | 42,527 | 44,570 | 2,043 units | |
| 1889 | 45,106 | 47,162 | 2,056 units | |
| 1890 | 47,198 | 49,337 | 2,139 units | |
| 1891 | 49,349 | 51,237 | 1,888 units | |
| 1892 | 51,256 | 52,628 | 1,372 units | |
| 1893 | 52,640 | 53,822 | 1,182 units | |
| 1894 | 53,937 | 54,694 | 757 units | |
| 1895 | 54,695 | 55,480 | 785 units | |
| 1896 | 55,512 | 56,311 | 799 units | |
| 1897 | 56,336 | 57,640 | 1,304 units | |
| 1898 | 57,680 | 59,242 | 1,562 units | |
| 1899 | 59,354 | 61,009 | 1,655 units | |
| 1900 | 61,014 | 62,575 | 1,561 units | |
| 1901 | 62,588 | 64,247 | 1,659 units | |
| 1902 | 64,292 | 64,999 | 707 units |
Dallmeyer Serials 1903-c.1984
The following has been newly constructed by combining source material from The Brent Archive with observation of hundreds of individual samples cross-referenced against known production dates. Whereas MacKenna aimed to pin a serial number to the date of mechanical completion, I have favoured the date of release from the workshop where possible. Partly this is a reflection of the less detailed nature of the source material: we simply don’t know the names linked every factory-imprinted remnant of DNA on Dallmeyer’s 20th Century lenses. More often we have sales records, signed prototypes, and more fragmentary confirmation of production dates. This discrepancy has the effect of dating lenses from this period several months later than the 19th Century timeline above.
As mentioned, Dallmeyer’s volume of sales had dwindled drastically by the early 1980s, and the company’s output in this period consisted largely of industrial optics such as beam expanders and scanning lenses. The takeover by Watshams in 1984 probably provides the latest possible endpoint to the serial number sequence. However, in Dallmeyer’s ‘Glass Ticket Register’ – a handwritten ledger documenting more than six decades’ activity – the last page is dated May to August 1982. The final batch of glass in production was destined for Dallmeyer’s UV scanning lens – likely before the end of that year. However, apart from the Glass Ticket Register – a document retained by a former employee, not present in the Brent Archive – little survives to help us pinpoint the end of the serial sequence. No serial numbers have so far been recorded in the 8xx,xxx range.
| Year | Early Serial # | Late Serial # | Annual Production | Notes and Anomalies |
| c.1904 | 66,723 | |||
| c.1905 | 67,500 | |||
| c.1906 | 69,887 | |||
| c.1910 | 70,000 | Probably inaccurate | ||
| c.1915 | 74,500 | |||
| pre-1921 | 81,841 | advert for new Serrac | ||
| 1923 | 99314 | 103469 | ||
| 1924 | 104,845 | |||
| 1925 | 106,120 | 107,550 | ||
| c.1927 | 121,000 | |||
| post/c.1926 | 126,080 | |||
| c.1929 | 132,970 | |||
| 1930 | 142,092 | Probably not orig. manufactured in 1930 | ||
| 1931 | 139,347 | 145,238 | ||
| 1932 | 141,849 | 153,005 | ||
| 1933 | 151,025 | 153,005 | ||
| 1934 | 156,231 | 163,411 | ||
| 1935 | 163,957 | 172,370 | ||
| 1936 | 175,099 | 187,974 | ||
| 1937 | 171,764 | 195,244 | 200,014 | |
| 1938 | 201,703 | 208,758 | ||
| 1939-May 1945 | c.220,000 | c.280,000 | World War II Era production. * #220,059 tentatively dated to 1937 (probably wrong) | |
| 1945 | 284,357 | 289,844 | 296,411 | |
| 1946 | 296,167 | 297,462 | 310,423 | |
| 1947 | 299,359 | 326,771 | ||
| 1948 | 327,853 | 349,558 | ||
| 1949 | 339,666 | 359,201 | ||
| 1950 | 361.922 | 369,180 | ||
| 1951 | 379,476 | |||
| 1952 | 421,136 | 433,813 | 432,440 | |
| 1953 | 440,105 | 447,661 | 399,777 | |
| 1954 | 452,553 | 459,339 | ||
| 1955 | 448,128 | 467,708 | ||
| 1956 | 453,240 | 487,603 | ||
| 1957 | 466,885 | 497,757 | 492,613 seen at Olympia Photofair | |
| 1958 | 504,174 | 511,993 | ||
| 1959 | 513,325 | 518,717 | ||
| 1960 | 525,137 | 531,774 | ||
| 1961 | 532,862 | |||
| 1962 | 542,722 | 550,679 | ||
| 1963 | 554,696 | 561,824 | ||
| 1964 | 569,275 | 571,662 | ||
| 1965 | c.570,000 | c.590,000 | ||
| 1966 | 596,200 | |||
| 1967 | 596,211 | 610,544 | ||
| 1968 | 617,273 | 618,271 | ||
| 1969 | 624,056 | 635,249 | ||
| 1970 | 636,195 | 645,760 | ||
| 1971 | 652,578 | 661,404 | ||
| 1972 | 644,908 | 675,831 | ||
| 1973 | 663,359 | 686,037 | ||
| 1975 | 705,081 | |||
| 1976 | 716,446 | |||
| 1977 | 694,441 | 719,451 | ||
| 1978-80 | 718,660 | 750,000 | ||
| 1983 | 769,596 | 769,598 | ||
| c.1982-1984 | 778,095 | 778,102 |
Dallmeyer at War
Crimea
TBA
World World I
TBA.
World War II
Dallmeyer continue to advertise in the trade press between 1939-1945, but not with the intent of selling lenses to the public. These ‘brand-awareness’ campaigns soberly reminded would-be purchasers that “in total war it is impossible to have tanks and cars, guns and lawnmowers, aeroplanes and furniture . . . Dallmeyers are engaged in the battle of the factories, so you won’t expect to be able to buy Dallmeyer lenses.” Another advert starkly advised as part of a catchy acrostic: “Don’t be impatient . . . Lenses by Dallmeyer may not be available at the moment . . . England needs their help . . . Your personal requirements must necessarily take second place . . . Everyone’s sacrifice helps the war effort . . . Reward will come with peace – when peacetime production once again gets going.”
Poignantly, every year from 1939-1944, Dallmeyer took out advertisements in time for Christmas, optimistic that peace – and normal service – was just around the corner. Expressing palpable relief, the September 1945 issue of Trade Bulletin carried a half-page advert from Dallmeyer with the simple headline ‘PEACE’, informing readers that “The door is now unlocked, and Dallmeyer Lenses will soon be once more available for distribution by the photographic and cinematographic dealer.”
While hardly any lenses manufactured during WWII were destined for public sale, Dallmeyer churned out aerial survey lenses like their patented Pentac 8-inch f2.9 as fast as they could make them. These were a (somewhat inferior) replacement or alternative to the Kodak Aero Ektars. Such lenses are marked AM 14A (Air Ministry photographic supply), commonly followed by a contract number (ie 14A/1727). Higher contract numbers do not always correspond to later serials: for instance the commonly-seen 14A/780 contract for Pentacs was fulfilled with serials as low as 181,xxx, whereas the 14A/719 contract is noted on serials as late as 367,xxx. It is said that two Pentacs were used for every Spitfire – one on each wing – and later on De Haviland Mosquitos. In the case of Dallmeyer lenses for the Air Ministry (sometimes marked ‘RAF’ in the lens books of the period), contract numbers correspong to a aeroplane part number.
The war effort involved many projection and enlarger lenses, too. Not all AM 14A lenses were given a maker’s mark – which has made identification troublesome, given that several companies fulfilled wartime supply contracts. Rushed production also resulted in widely diverse markings and build quality. However, newly available serial guides improve the odds of identification:
Aldis: Air Ministry Aldis lenses feature serial numbers prefixed by ‘No.’ and sometimes appear with an EE prefix. The type most commonly observed is the 20-inch f6.3.
Dallmeyer: Pentacs were made for the Air Ministry by Dallmeyer, Ross and Taylor-Hobson. Some serial numbers are in-sequence (from c.180,000 to c.220,000) but other contemporary Dallmeyer-made Pentacs (usually those marked with the white J.H.D roundel) were given out-of-sequence serial numbers in the range 400,000 to 430,000. These all date from the war period, and are not to be confused with main-sequence-numbered lenses beginning 4xx,xxx that date from 1950-1958. The Dallmeyer lens books of 1941-1943 show Pentac 8-inch lenses supplied to the Air Ministry made within a couple of days that jump, without explanation, from 2xx,xxx to 4xx,xxx and back again. ‘JHD’ branding (either a condensed typeface stencilled in white paint (sometimes set within a roundel) or the engraved letters ”J.H.D.’) and/or UU serial prefixes – all positively identify a lens as Dallmeyer-made. Serial numbers were sometimes widely spaced, but never have a ‘No.’ prefix.
Ross: Serial numbers with a VV prefix can be positively identified as made by Ross.
Taylor-Hobson: Pentacs and Anastigmats were made for the Air Ministry by Taylor-Hobson. ‘NOC’ branding and TT serial prefixes positively identify as lens as made by Taylor-Hobson. NOC stands for ‘National Optical Company’: a Leicester subsidiary of Taylor-Hobson devoted to the production of military optics. These TT lenses seem to have in-sequence numbering (c.250,000 – inconveniently close to Dallmeyer), but at least some of those without the TT prefix (especially the NOC variants) have five and six-digital serials beginning zero: ie, Pentac 8 inch f2.9 lenses numbered 08791 and 026808. This ‘timeline hiatus’ corresponding to the NOC period explains why Taylor-Hobson lenses of the late pre- and early post-war periods have very similar numbers: ie, a lens with a serial c.280,000 might derive from 1939 or 1946. Serial numbers are usually prefixed ‘No.’
Wray
| Dallmeyer Air Ministry Lenses | Serial # | Air Ministry Contract |
| Pentac 8″ f2.9 Pentac 8″ f/2.9 (wide spaced serials) [Pentac] 8″ f2.9 (wide-spaced serials) [Pentac] 8″ f2.9 (wide-spaced serials) [Pentac] 8″ f2.9 (wide-spaced serials) [Pentac] 8″ f/2.9 (wide-spaced serials) f=8in Pentac 8″ f2.9 (script logo) Pentac 8″ f2.9 (JDH Roundel) Pentac 8″ f/2.9 (JDH Roundel) | 277,330 240,751 244,871 253,052 268,124 161,476-213,xxx 181,668-230,056 254,451-273,884 408,587-410,369 | 14A/1727 14A/780 14A/780 14A/780 14A/780 14A/780 14A/780 14A/780 14A/780 |
| Wide Angle Anastigmat 5.5″ Broad Arrow | 280,263 | |
| Anastigmat 10 inch f4.5 (brass body) wide-spaced serials | 367,840 | 14A/719 |
| [Serrac] 14″ f5.6 (JDH Roundel) | – UU418255 UU420673 UU427071 UU429455 | 14A/827 14A/3140 14A/3140 14A/3140 14A/3140 |
| 36″ f6.3 (JHD) 4/1952 | UU421136 | 14A/2442 |
| Pentac 8-in f/2.9 | UU42601 |
A number of ‘War Department’ lenses marked with the ‘W↑D’ logo were also made by Dallmeyer during this period, with a similar numbering system.
Non-Dallmeyer and unidentified Air Ministry optics
Air Ministry codes: EE=Aldis? / TT=Taylor Hobson / UU= Dallmeyer / VV = Ross / WW = Wray?
20 inch f6.3 (‘No.156615’) – 14A/2320
Anastigmat 14 inch f5.6 (‘No.271425’ = 14A/1759)
8 inch f2.9 (like Pentac) unbranded – 166002 – 14A/780
Aldis Anastigmat 10 inch f8 (No.173256) – 14A/719
Aldis 20 inch f6.3-32 (EE 189284) – 14A/3418
8 inch f5.6 Anastigmat (‘No.276482’) – 14A/1727
F=5.5-in f/6.5 -f64 Wide Angle Anastigmat (280263) – 14A/718 (enlarging lens?) Broad arrow
8013/9 — 1900/14]
Dallmeyer Speed VP: 102959 to 110093
Dallmeyer Speed 2.5″ x 3.5″ – 107079 to 145696
Dallmeyer Speed Reflex: 116167 to 134788
stigmatic SERII F6 5.3=3.5cm F=8 20cm – script logo – 77991
Series II No 4 Stigmatic 19cm – script logo – 83805 (“c.1906”)
114947 is probably 1920s
Dallmeyer Soft Focus ‘No.106253’ F=9-in (present in 1906) ?? 1916??
Dallac 8.5cm f2 advertised in 1955 Dallcoated.
All-chrome PROJECTION 2″ – caps logo – 165470 (old-style box)
Dallmeyer Adon 14″ 355mm F:4.5 no.144742 Uncoated
Dallmeyer 38mm f/1.5 with script logo: 125436
Super Six Anastigmat F=2 1/2″ 62mm f/1.9 Cine Lens: 362438 (silver)
Super Six Anastigmat: 32/1.9: 305439 (silver)
Super Six Anastigmat: 38/1.9: 305438 (silver)
Super Six Anastigmat: 1.5 inch f2: 488251 (black)
3 inch telephoto f4 – caps logo – 348873
Pentax 4 inch f2.9 – caps logo – black – 341780
Serrac launched 1921 – advertised lens in 81841
Serrac 4 inch f4.5 – black – caps logo – 488907
Serrac 8 inch f4.5 – 299553 – black – caps logo
Serrac 4.5/3″ no.310861 (caps logo)
Serrac 8” ƒ4.5, 269181
Serrac 8 – 341334
F=3″ F/1.9 lens black – caps logo – 198491,
Dallon Tele-Anastigmat 5.6/4′ ( 100mm) – script logo: 202476
12″ F/7.7 12 Inch F7.7 DALLON TELE-Anastigmat – caps logo 202515
DALLMEYER LONDON, 10′ F3.5 DALLON TELE ANASTIGMAT – NO 123493
Dallon Tele-Anastigmat 7.7/12″ no.197545 (caps logo)
Dallon Series VI No. 1B 9-inch 5.6 – 98962
Dallon Series VI No. 4 – 17″ f5.6 – 101096
Dalon Series XVIII 9″ f5.6 telephoto – 101322
Dallon Series VI Mo. 1AA 6″ f5.6 – 106120 (given firmly as 1925)
Dallon 6″ f5.6 Exakta mount, chrome finish: 307611
Wide Angle Anastigmat 6.5/2 3/8″ no.537050 (caps logo)
Wide Angle Anastigmat 6.5/3 1/4 no.362242 (caps logo)
152mm Condenser: 658308
Air Ministry Broad Arrow Military 14A Wide Angle Anastigmat 5.5” – 280263
Dallmeyer Lens Projection F=1″ – 346970
DC Series PROJECTION: Black with silver collar: 7 inch: 555641
LES CHIFFRES CLES:
269181 — 1933/36
530713 — 1956/60
478362 — 1956/60
popular brass cine lens 1.5″ F4 – black – caps logo – 498531
5 1/4” ƒ6 No 2 Stigmatic Ser II, 68013/9. Numbers for front and rear cells.
4 1/4” ƒ6.5 Wide Angle Anastigmat, 530713
5 1/4” ƒ6.5 Wide Angle Anastigmat, 478362
Dallmeyer 35mm F1.6 Double Gauss Six Element 35mm Lens – UK Dealer – 2405 – ‘JHD’ logo – #778102 #778095
Pentac 4.25″ – 107093
Dallmeyer Enlarger Lenses
Dallmeyer’s first enlarger lens was derived from the Dalmac. The first prototypes date from 1927, but Dallmeyer’s literature usually gives the release date of its first commercially-available enlarger lens as 1929. They were consistently of good quality: always four-element designs. Initially, the lens was simply known as ‘Enlarging Anastigmat’. From 1945 we see a refreshed range comprising Standard Anastigmat (though still labeled on the fascia, as before, ‘Enlarging Anastigmat’) and the earlier Anastigmat rebranded as ‘Popular’. Both lenses were gradually refined over their lifespan, as evidenced by the record of numerous enlarger optic prototypes in the Dallmeyer lens books. By the mid-1950s there were also special Chromatic Correction versions of the 7″ and 10″ Standard distinguished by their slower f5.6 maximum aperture.
Between 1954 and 1957 Dallmeyer was prototyping a ‘New Design’ enlarger lens that was finally released in September 1958. These ‘Deluxe’ models featured a recomputed four-element formula with the latest flavour of Dallcoating and superior edge illumination, field flatness and overall resolution. It featured a complex ‘scalloped’ diaphragm and was built to Dallmeyer’s typically high standard. In 1958 the Deluxe was state-of-the-art – superior to anything coming from Japan, and at least as good as the best German enlarger optics, certainly bettering Rodenstock’s then-new four-element Ysaron. The Deluxe 50/3.5 sold at almost twice the price of the standard four-element anastigmat (£5/15d v £10). The company’s decision not to offer a Deluxe enlarger lens for medium format is hard to account for. However, the Deluxe range remained on the market alongside the ‘Popular’ and ‘Standard’ models until at least the late 1970’s – probably into the early 1980s – but the cheaper Dallmeyer anastigmats fell out of favour and were either phased out, or sold in small numbers, during the 1970s, by which time Rodenstock, Schneider and Nikon’s six-element lenses rightfully dominated the enlarger lens market.
Dallmeyer rarely used its internal ‘codenames’ in advertising but they were present in catalogues throughout the 20th century, with remarkable consistency. For instance, despite changes in construction and coatings, both a 1929 Standard 6″ enlarging lens and its 152mm 1980 descendant were identically referenced as ‘Enlar’.
| Lens | Codename | Elements | Serial # | Production |
| FIRST GENERATION ANASTIGMAT | Script Logo | |||
| Enlarging Anastigmat 6″ f4.0 | Enlar | 1929-1931+ | ||
| Enlarging Anastigmat 7″ f4.0 | Embro | 1927-1931+ | ||
| Enlarging Anastigmat 8½” f4.0 | Emden | 1927-1931+ | ||
| FIRST GENERATION ‘POPULAR’ LENSES | Script Logo? | |||
| Popular Enlarging Anastigmat 3″ f4.5 [V1] | Kepar | 346,534 | c.1932-1949 | |
| < sizes between above & below > | c.1932-1949 | |||
| Popular Enlarging Anastigmat 5.3″ f4.5 | 339,749 | c.1932-1949 | ||
| Popular Enlarging Anastigmat 6″ f4.5 | 203,399 | c.1932-1949 | ||
| Popular Enlarging Anastigmat 7″ f4.5 | c.1932-1949 | |||
| SECOND GENERATION ‘STANDARD’ LENSES | ||||
| Enlarging Anastigmat 2″ f4.5 | c.1932-1949 | |||
| < sizes between above & below > | c.1932-1949 | |||
| Enlarging Anastigmat 7″ f4.5 | 152,075 | c.1932-1949 | ||
| Enlarging Anastigmat 8½” f4.5 | c.1932-1949 | |||
| SECOND GENERATION ‘POPULAR’ LENSES | ||||
| Popular Enlarging Anastigmat 2″ f4.5 | Kadie | 4 | 1949-1971 | |
| Popular Enlarging Anastigmat 3″ f4.5 [V2] | Kepar | 4 | 359,307-532,900 | 1949-1971 |
| Popular Enlarging Anastigmat 3¼” (82mm) f4.5 | Kelad | 4 | 1957 | |
| Popular Enlarging Anastigmat 4″ f4.5 | Kalor | 4 | 353,675-448,128 | 1949-1971 |
| Popular Enlarging Anastigmat 5.3″ f4.5 | 4 | 443,210 | 1949-1971 | |
| THIRD GENERATION ‘STANDARD’ LENSES | ||||
| Enlarging Anastigmat 2″ f3.5 | Agben | 4 | 345,731 | c.1954-1971 |
| Enlarging Anastigmat 2″ (51mm) f4.5 | Zaker | 4 | c.1954-1971 | |
| Enlarging Anastigmat 2.4″ (61mm) f4.5 | Zaler | 4 | c.1954-1971 | |
| Enlarging Anastigmat 3″ f4.5 | Edgar | 4 | 461,712-481,075 | c.1954-1971 |
| Enlarging Anastigmat 3¼” (82mm) f4.5 [V1] | Eltor | 4 | 451,832 | c.1954-1971 |
| Enlarging Anastigmat 4″ f4.5 | Exier | 4 | 524,636-647,231 | c.1954-1971 |
| Enlarging Anastigmat 5½” (140mm) f4.5 | Ebage | 4 | c.1954-1971 | |
| Enlarging Anastigmat 6″ (152mm) f4.5 [V1] | Enlar | 4 | 523,849-587,630 | c.1954-1971 |
| Enlarging Anastigmat 7″ (178mm) f4.5 | Embro | 4 | c.1954-1971 | |
| Enlarging Anastigmat 7″ (178mm) f5.6 * | Edlor | 4 | c.1954-1971 | |
| Enlarging Anastigmat 7½” (190mm) f4.5 | Zuray | 4 | c.1954-1971 | |
| Enlarging Anastigmat 8″ (203mm) f4.5 | Kamre | 4 | c.1954-1971 | |
| Enlarging Anastigmat 8½” (216mm) f4.5 | Emden | 4 | c.1954-1971 | |
| Enlarging Anastigmat 10″ (254mm) f4.5 | Eplam | 4 | c.1954-1971 | |
| Enlarging Anastigmat 10″ (254mm) f5.6 * | Edsun | 4 | c.1954-1971 | |
| FOURTH GENERATION ‘DELUXE’ LENSES | ||||
| Deluxe 1″ (25mm) f3.5 | Dotin | 4 | 1958-c.1980 | |
| Deluxe 2″ f3.5 Anastigmat | Delen | 4 | 506,561-596,394 | 1958-1971 |
| Deluxe 51mm f3.5 | Delen | 4 | 631,295-650,380 | 1971-c.1980 |
| Deluxe 7″ f5.6 Anastigmat | Edfel | 4 | 550,084-589,964 | c.1965-1971 |
| Deluxe 178mm f5.6 | Edfel | 4 | 693,240 | 1971-c.1980 |
| Deluxe 10″ (264mm) f5.6 | Eglux | 4 | c.1965-1980 | |
| FIFTH GENERATION ‘STANDARD’ LENSES | ||||
| Enlarging 76mm f4.5 [V2] | 4 | |||
| Enlarging 82mm f4.5 [V2] | Eltor | 4 | 660,309 | 1971-c.1974 |
| Enlarging 152mm f4.5 [V2] | Enlar | 4 | 689,144 | 1971-c.1974 |
Dallmeyer Film Projection Lenses
Dallmeyer can fairly be said to have been ‘in on the ground floor’ of cine projection: offering lenses spanning 8mm, 9.5mm, 16mm and 35mm formats from prior to World War I, with an interesting variety of Petzval and six-element designs, as well as triplets for slide projection.
Series XII
Series XIV
Super Six
Max-Lite and Superlite (16mm)
Max-Lite lenses, already present in 1935, were designed for projection of 16mm film. Superlite 16mm lenses offered the same four-element optical formula condensed into a smaller barrel size.
| Lens | Codename | Elements | Serial # | Production |
| Max-lite 1″ [25mm] Silver | 454,004 | |||
| Max-lite 2″ f1.6 [51mm Dallcoated] silver | 320,654 | |||
| Max-lite 3″ [76mm] Silver | 319,658 | |||
| Max-lite 3″ [76mm] Black/zebra | 575,219 | |||
| Max-lite 76mm (Black/zebra) | 714,515 | |||
Superlite (35mm)
For projection of 35mm standard film
| Lens | Codename | Elements | Serial # | Production |
| Superlite 4¾” (120mm) f1.9 | Thorp | |||
| Superlite 5″ (127mm) f1.9 | Torle | |||
| Superlite 5¼” (133mm) f2.0 | Timeo | |||
| Superlite 5½” (140mm) f2.1 | Tayol | |||
| Superlite 5¾” (146mm) f2.2 | Tavim | |||
| Superlite 6″ (152mm) f2.3 | Tedah | |||
| Superlite 6¼” (158mm) f2.4 | Toler | |||
| Superlite 6½” (165mm) f2.5 | Takin | |||
| Superlite 6¾” (171mm) f2.6 | Tuber | |||
| Superlite 7″ (178mm) f2.7 | Timel |
Dallmeyer Special-Purpose Lenses
Gauge Projection
In 1915, Dallmeyer was commissioned to design a lens capable of precise 50x projection of the thread of a screw measuring half an inch in diameter over a distance of 13 feet. The measured displacement of any point in the projected gauge was not to exceed five-thousands of an inch. Dallmeyer’s screw gauge and profile projection lenses were in production until the early 1980s, and were fitted in conjunction with a condenser lens to comparators and contour projectors such as the compact Westminster and ‘Shadomaster’ E.I. series. Dallmeyer screw gauge and profile projection lenses were also fitted to cabinet devices like the Hilger Measuring Projector and the Hilger & Watts Lathe Projector.
By the mid-1970’s, Dallmeyer referred to these as Profile Lenses, and the range had been separated into Mark II and Mark IV models – optimised for object-image distances of 205.7mm and 290.8mm respectively, with the exception of the 324mm Mark IV which was optimised for an object-image distance of 381cm. Catalogue number C3601 appears as 249mm and 349mm focal lengths in different catalogues – 349mm is likely a misprint. A 1978 catalogue also records data for a range of Small Screen Profile lenses in 20mm, 49mm and 89m focal lengths.
| Gauge Projection / Profile Lens | Elements | Serials | Production | Cat. No. |
| 10mm (x200) Mark II | 1977 | C3506 | ||
| 19mm (x100) Mark II | 1977 | C3048 | ||
| 20mm (Dallcoated) Small Screen | 553,226-717,923 | 1977 | 3512 | |
| 28mm (x100) Mark IV | 1977 | P3944 | ||
| 1.15″ [29mm] | 264,393 | |||
| 1.5″ [38mm] | 553,014 | |||
| 38mm (x50) Mark II | 728,743-728,752 | 1977 | C3044 | |
| 39.5mm | 487,622 | |||
| 1.9″ [48mm] | 503,961 | |||
| 49mm (Dallcoated) Small Screen | 716,570 | 1977 | 3513 | |
| 2″ [51mm] | 372,293 | |||
| 55mm (x50) Mark IV | 1977 | P3936 | ||
| 2.2″ [56mm] | 264,369 | |||
| 2½” [64mm] | 502,439 | |||
| 63mm | 679,843 | |||
| 74mm (x25) Mark II | 1977 | C3053 | ||
| 3″ [76mm] | 489,764-578,692 | |||
| 3.5″ (Dallcoated) [89mm] | 569,999 | |||
| 89mm (x10) Small Screen | 1977 | 3514 | ||
| 90mm (x20) Mark II | 1977 | C3047 | ||
| 4″ [102mm] [V1] | 368,271 | |||
| 4″ [102mm] [V2] | 438,637 | |||
| 110mm (x25) Mark IV | 1977 | P3942 | ||
| 4½” c.f3 (114mm, not Dallcoated) | 494,873 | |||
| 5″ [127mm] c.f4 | 4 | 271,232 | ||
| 127mm | 684,388 | |||
| 136mm (x20) Mark IV | 1977 | P3935 | ||
| 155mm | ||||
| 6.7″ | 485,145-562,824 | |||
| 6.7″ Mark II | 589,841 | |||
| 170mm | 718,757-718,759 | |||
| 3 7″ [175mm?] | 576,607 | |||
| 175mm (x10) Mark II | 1977 | C3049 | ||
| 249mm (x10) Mark IV | 1977 | C3601 | ||
| 305mm (x5) Mark II | 1978 | C2442 | ||
| 324mm (x10) Mark IV | 1977 | |||
| 425mm (x5) Mark IV | 1977 |
Cathode Ray Recording
The Oscilac was a two inch (51mm) anastigmat designed for cathode ray recording. A seven-element design with a maximum aperture of f1.0 featuring ‘rare earth’ (lanthanum) elements, it was optimised to work with an object to image ratio of 4:1. The image circle is 38mm in diameter, and at 4:1, it has a relatively long back focus of 27mm.
Oscillograph lenses appear quite early in Dallmeyer catalogues, and commonly surface on the used market fitted with shutters – most often the 51mm f1.9 variant. Pre-decimal 3-inch versions of the 76mm Oscillograph are found contemporaneously in f2.8 and f3.5 versions from as early as c.1962 – although by 1978 the only such lens offered was the five-element 75mm f2.8. Only the most desirable 85mm f1.5 lens was additionally designated in a way that identified its (eight-element) optical formula – marked ‘Octac’ on its fascia.
| Lens Name | Elements | Serials | Production | Cat. No. |
| Oscilac 2″ f1.0 | 7 | |||
| Oscilac 51mm f1.0 | 7 | 629,309-723,374 | ||
| Oscillograph 50mm f1.0 | 7 | 1977 | 2606 | |
| Oscillograph 50mm f1.5 | 7 | 1977 | 1949 | |
| Oscillograph 50mm f1.9 | 6 | 709,615 | 1977 | 3692 |
| Oscillograph 51mm f1.9 | 664,988-721,276 | |||
| Oscillograph 75mm f2.8 | 5 | misprint for 76mm? | 1977 | 2918 |
| Oscillograph 3″ [76mm] f2.8 | 542,241-612,712 | |||
| Oscillograph 3″ [76mm] f3.5 | 544,496-578,396 | |||
| Oscillograph 76mm f2.8 | 627,010-692,099 | |||
| Oscillograph 76mm f3.5 | 640,849 | |||
| Octac Oscillograph 80mm f1.5 | 8 | 618,505-719,883 | 1977 | 2704 |
Infrared Lenses
Dallmeyer made infrared-specific lens with a Wreathall mount suitable for pyroelectric Vidicon cameras. The f0.8 optics were all mildly radioactive Germanium triplets: a three-element, three-group design with an image circle of 18mm diameter. The lenses were certainly still in production in 1978 but surviving serials suggest a production span between 1975 until at least 1980. For more information on each lens, please click through to its catalogue page.
| Lens Name | Elements | Serials | Production | Cat. No |
| 25mm f0.8 (8-14 microns) | 3 / 3 | c.1975-1980 | I.3904 | |
| 50mm f0.8 (8-14 microns) | 3 / 3 | 713,810 | c.1975-1980 | I.3915 |
| 75mm f0.8 (8-14 microns) | 3 / 3 | c.1975-1980 | I.3927 |
Process Lenses
TBA