Two 1930's Agfa Readyset Specials - seeing double!

[David Silver]

At a flea market a couple weeks ago, a seller who knows me and my interests called across the aisle for me to see him. I said I'd be around in a couple of minutes. At that moment I was at somebody else's table, looking at a cute somewhat art deco styled Readyset Special PB20 folding bellows camera (2 1/4 x 3 1/4 inch exposures on #620 film) made by Agfa in the 1930's, complete with the original box and instructions. Nice, and only $10, but much too pedestrian for my collecting tastes. (For the record, although I collect and study things far more "antique" than this, I do purchase fancy art deco cameras to display in my apartment...I just prefer ones with a bit more color or decoration.) So I walk away, pass around the corner of the aisle and get to my friend's table...and for a moment I thought I was seeing double! There was the exact same camera, with box and instructions! But wait...there was a difference. This was the larger PD16 version (2 1/2 x 4 1/4 inch exposures on #616 film). He told me he wanted $20 for it, I pointed out the one across the aisle for only $10, and we compromised for $15. So, of course, I ran back and got the smaller one as well. They make a very cool display side by side. I'm not sure about keeping them, they may end up on eBay eventually, but for now they look quite nice on my coffee table. Take a look...

[minoltaman]

Nice cameras, good find! Two with original boxes AND instructions? Wow. Do they work? Do you plan on running some film through them?

These do make great display pieces. I have two working Kodak 1A and 3A folders on display in our house and visitors always comment on them.

[Michael Fraley]

Good story and interesting cameras, David! What flea market, if you don't mind? I'm also in San Francisco and would like to attend sometime. Is it the first-Saturday-of-the-month one on Bryant? I bought a very nice Yashicamat 124-G there, about a year ago. It seemed attendance was dropping off severely, the last time I went. Is it picking up again?

Thanks,
Michael

[PeterW]

Hi David,

Interesting find. I wouldn't like to guess the odds on finding two like that on different stalls in the same flea market.

I haven't actually seen a Readyset Special. They look almost the same as the Agfa-Ansco Captain. The PD16 and PB20 model names were, I thought, given to the Agfa-Ansco Plenax, but I think they had a slightly more sophisticated shutter and had the eye level viewfinder on the other side of the body.

Agfa-Ansco cameras don't turn up very often in the UK, and I never did manage to sort out all the Ansco renaming of German Agfas, let alone the variations in the US made models. Life's too short.

PeterW