The Victorian point of view

[photax]

Hi !

I am currently reading a ( german translated paperback version ) book named original “The Clumsiest People in Europe: Or Mrs. Mortimer's Bad-Tempered Guide to the Victorian World”. It is a summary of cutouts from tourist guide books, written by Favell Lee Mortimer in 1852-1854. She was a religious influenced author of children`s books from London, who wrote a series of travel books about the whole world, without having been there at all ( she never left England ! ). From today`s point of view her “inspection report”, based on rumours and mostly political incorrect prejudices is very funny to read and gives you an impression how the people then socially perceived other countries. I try to retranslate some sentences: “ In the morning, at noon and in the evening, the Viennese people have nothing but dancing, music, holidays and amusement in mind ( I would agree with this ;D ). A dark, unhealthy and nauseous river flows through the city. All the Viennese are coughing, because there is always a strong cold wind blowing from the east. And if you don’t watch out, you will be overrun by the reckless driven carriages…” She wrote about British America: “ The people on both sides of the Saint Lawrence River are very different, on the British side they are more polite, but on the other side they are more busy and less drunk (!). In the United States they execute things hastily, in British America people are slow and not in a hurry to get rich.” And so on…
A pleasurably book which can be recommended.

Mik

[PeterW]

Hi Mik,

That sounds an interesting and fun book.

I'm still cutting down my once amorphous accumulation of cameras of all ages to concentrate on my main collecting interest which is the European camera industry and cameras from the start of photography up to about 1960, but I too had a spot of luck with a book last week.

At the moment I spend quite a lot of my spare time (spare??) researching the history of Dr. August Nagel. I regard August Nagel as one of the most influential German camera designers of the 20th century yet his history is strangely neglected. What little there is about him on various websites is often either conflicting or one website repeats what another says, including things which I know are errors.

However, last week I found a London bookseller who still had a brand new copy, still in its plastic wrapper, of Zauber der Kamera, a history of Nagel Camera Werk in Stuttgart Wangen from 1928 onwards.

It was written by August's son Helmut Nagel who took over the company when August Nagel died in 1943. As a lead-in to the main part of the book he wrote a brief history of his father's career. It has quite a few tantalising gaps, but it gave me a lot of information I haven't been able to find elsewhere.

There is also a lot of information about Retinas but this is not as detailed as other information such as in Brian Coe's book Kodak, the First Hundred Years and on Chris Sherlock's website.

The book is in German, and though it was written in 1977 Helmut Nagel was born in 1914 which is maybe why the style of German he uses seems to me quite old, with lots of long sentences having numerous sub-clauses each one qualifying another. Also, some verbs seem to be used in the present tense, or even in the future tense, when, to me, they ought to be in the past tense, so I am struggling a little in places over the translation. Never mind, I'll get there.

The book cost me £9, the original 1977 price, plus postage. I saw a secondhand copy in "fair" condition on ebay a week or so back labelled "Wow, Rare!!" It sold for £18.51 plus postage, so I'm quite pleased.

When I've collected as much information as I can about August Nagel I'll put it on my website and ask if anyone can add to it. I know there is a lot more information about him and about Contessa Nettel in the Zeiss archives but Zeiss won't search for you. You have to go to Jena and do your own searching which for me is out of the question.

Changing the subject, I found your horizontal enlargers which used a plate camera fascinating. I haven't come across any like that before. There were plenty of makes of wooden, usually mahogany, horizontal enlargers available in the UK in Victorian and Edwardian times but all that I have seen had the bellows and lens panel incorporated in them.

Regards,

PeterW

[photax]

Hi Peter !

The book you mentioned must be a very interesting one and the price is a bargain. This is not a common book here. I know one guy who ones one, but I have never seen one for sale. From time to time I visit antique book shops and I cannot get away without buying one or two, mostly old photographic catalogues. They give you an impression of the market at that time, the prices and you always will find new antique accessories and cameras you would not know therein. I also think that the history behind a camera is important too. I have two or three Nagel`s ( unfortunately no of the Pupille-models ) and some of the early german Kodak`s in my collection, but I must confess, that I did not know very much about the Nagel company. I am curious about your article on your website. Please be so kind and let me know the address of your site.
If you need help with translation please contact me and I will try to do my best…

MIK

[PeterW]

Hi Mik,

Thanks for your offer of help with the translation but I am steadily working my way through it. My translation might be a little "free" in places but I'm sure I have the correct translation of all the important parts.

It may be a while before I put the information about August Nagel on my website but if you'd care to have a look at it the site address is
www.peterwallage.com

I hope you find at least some of it interesting.

I haven't updated it for a long time but I plan to do this early in the New Year when I can also correct a few typing errors.

I'll let everyone know when I've updated it.

PeterW