Yes Virginia, There Was an Er-Nox
In search of the elusive predecessor of the legendary Ermanox
By Jason Schneider
Researching the history of the Ermanox, like getting old, is not for sissies. It entails digging into the dauntingly byzantine history of Ernemann, an old-line Dresden camera and lens manufacturer that was one of the principal parties in the great Zeiss-Ikon merger of 1926. The Ernemann Werke, AG catalog of 1924 was an impressive 72-page volume that included everything from humble box cameras to state-of-the-art press and folding cameras, a number of different SLRs, a full line of cine cameras and projectors, and myriad accessories. The Ermanox 4.5 x 6 cm plate and film pack camera that debuted in late 1924 was the most famous and distinctive camera they ever made, primarily because of its astoundingly fast (for its day) 10cm f/2 Ernostar lens designed by Ludwig Bertele. He was one of the top 4 or 5 lens designers of the 20th century, and the man behind many of the classic lenses used on Zeiss Contax rangefinder cameras. His landmark 10cm f/2 Ernostar, equivalent to a 58mm on the Ermanox, was then the widest aperture lens on any series production still camera. And even with the pathetically slow (ISO 25-32) “superspeed” plates and films of the day, it allowed intrepid photojournalists like Dr. Erich Salomon to shoot handheld “candid” pictures indoors without flash.
One sticky wicket: While many avid collectors and premier auction houses such as Christies’ and WestLicht (now Leitz Photographica) Auction, list or describe early versions of the Ermanox using the name “Er-Nox,” that name does not appear anywhere on the camera. Was Er-Nox just an informal moniker or was it an official factory designation? After several weeks of research, I was still unable to nail it down.
The Ernemann Er-Nox: This was the official factory designation of the earliest examples of the Ermanox, all with solid leather clad body and "super-speed" 10 cm f/2 Ernostar lens. Image courtesy of the Dresden City Museum, a repository of much of that great city's technological heritage
Then, mirabile dictu longtime Ermanox aficionado Stephen Gandy tried to put me out of my misery by forwarding a copy of a 1924 magazine ad for the “Er-Nox” placed by Central Camera Company of Chicago “Chicago’s Oldest Camera Store” (which was founded in 1899 and is still in business online while rebuilding from a recent arson fire!) He followed up with a beautiful picture of what is labeled as an Ernemann Er-Nox camera in the collection of the Dresden City Museum (Museen der Stadt Dresden). This would be sufficient confirmation for most people but not for a curmudgeon like me, so herewith my slightly snarky reply below:
The remarkable new Er-Nox camera, as described and shown in a 1924 magazine ad by the venerable Central Camera Company of Chicago
“If Er-Nox is good enough for the Dresden Museum it’s good enough for me. This again is the original rigid bodied leather clad version of 1924 with the 10 cm f/2 Ernostar lens. We assume the name change to Ermanox occurred with the introduction of the 8.5 cm f/1.8 and 10.5 cm f/1.8 Ernostars that were unveiled later in 1924. However, absent an Ernemann brochure or catalog listing, that is by no means dispositive. Until someone comes up with actual factory catalogs showing that there was a transition and precisely when it occurred the history of the Ermanox will still be shrouded in some mystery.”
The clincher came quickly in an amazingly detailed post by Peter Göllner on the Ermanox forum on Facebook. Peter, who lives in Germany, is obviously as well informed on this arcane subject as anyone in the world and he was kind enough to include a facsimile of the page announcing the Er-Nox appearing in a 1924 Erremann catalog. Here’s the scoop in his own words, translated from the original German:
“The name Er-Nox is definitely not a myth; it really existed. Ernemann introduced the Er-Nox in the 2nd half of 1924 in an advertisement No. 912 of July 1924 and in Catalogue No. 1050 of September 1924. The camera was only available in 4.5 x 6 cm format and with the 10cm f/2 Ernostar lens under the name Er-Nox. At this point, the camera weighed approximately 1.6 kg. due to the (focusing) tube being made of brass. The camera was already presented as the Ermanox in a special print of the Berlin Stock Exchange Curier dated September 25th 1924 and also in December 1924 in Catalogue 1070. Now the weight of the camera was approximately 500 gr less, i.e. 1,1 kg.
The name change must have occurred at the end of September 1924 These times are also a good match with the registration of the trademark. The name Ermanox was applied for on October 1 1924 and issued on December 16, 1924. From May 1925 the Ermanox appeared additionally with the 8.5cm f/1.8 Ernostar. Both the 10cm f/2 and 8.5 cm f/1.8 optics were distributed together until the end. One can only speculate why they changed the name. The name Er-Nox had already been registered by Ernemann in 1914, so it was approximately 10 years old. Perhaps such an old name was no longer considered contemporary enough for such an innovative product. But that's just speculation.”
Official Ernemann Er-Nox flier kindly posted by Peter Göllner is proof positive that the Er-Nox was not a myth, just a first iteration Ermanox.
Who designed the Ermanox camera? We may never know for sure, but we can take an educated guess based on the following information kindly supplied by Todd Gustavson the man in charge of the photographic collection at the George Eastman House Museum in Rochester, NY.
“After poking around a bit, it looks to me like the design for the Ermanox evolved from a number of earlier Ernemann cameras. So, they basically combined the Bertele lens design to more-or-less already existing camera bodies; then they had to add the helical focusing.
Unfortunately, the various German patents for the Ermanox do not list an inventor. According to Larry Gubas’ book for Ernemann, August Muller and John Klein were the company's in-house designers at the time. Assuming that they were the gents behind the scenes who did the Ermanox might be a reasonable guess, but it would also be just that, a guess, since there is no direct evidence connecting them to the camera. Dave Jentz suggests that anyone who wants to know more about this subject should peruse Manfred Rehm's article about Ermanox in the PhotoDeal magazine Nr. 49 page 28 from 2005. It’s entitled “Die Nachtkamera Aus den 20er Jahren” and it’s in German.”
As some benighted researcher once said, “The struggle continues.”
In search of the elusive predecessor of the legendary Ermanox
By Jason Schneider
Researching the history of the Ermanox, like getting old, is not for sissies. It entails digging into the dauntingly byzantine history of Ernemann, an old-line Dresden camera and lens manufacturer that was one of the principal parties in the great Zeiss-Ikon merger of 1926. The Ernemann Werke, AG catalog of 1924 was an impressive 72-page volume that included everything from humble box cameras to state-of-the-art press and folding cameras, a number of different SLRs, a full line of cine cameras and projectors, and myriad accessories. The Ermanox 4.5 x 6 cm plate and film pack camera that debuted in late 1924 was the most famous and distinctive camera they ever made, primarily because of its astoundingly fast (for its day) 10cm f/2 Ernostar lens designed by Ludwig Bertele. He was one of the top 4 or 5 lens designers of the 20th century, and the man behind many of the classic lenses used on Zeiss Contax rangefinder cameras. His landmark 10cm f/2 Ernostar, equivalent to a 58mm on the Ermanox, was then the widest aperture lens on any series production still camera. And even with the pathetically slow (ISO 25-32) “superspeed” plates and films of the day, it allowed intrepid photojournalists like Dr. Erich Salomon to shoot handheld “candid” pictures indoors without flash.
One sticky wicket: While many avid collectors and premier auction houses such as Christies’ and WestLicht (now Leitz Photographica) Auction, list or describe early versions of the Ermanox using the name “Er-Nox,” that name does not appear anywhere on the camera. Was Er-Nox just an informal moniker or was it an official factory designation? After several weeks of research, I was still unable to nail it down.
The Ernemann Er-Nox: This was the official factory designation of the earliest examples of the Ermanox, all with solid leather clad body and "super-speed" 10 cm f/2 Ernostar lens. Image courtesy of the Dresden City Museum, a repository of much of that great city's technological heritage
Then, mirabile dictu longtime Ermanox aficionado Stephen Gandy tried to put me out of my misery by forwarding a copy of a 1924 magazine ad for the “Er-Nox” placed by Central Camera Company of Chicago “Chicago’s Oldest Camera Store” (which was founded in 1899 and is still in business online while rebuilding from a recent arson fire!) He followed up with a beautiful picture of what is labeled as an Ernemann Er-Nox camera in the collection of the Dresden City Museum (Museen der Stadt Dresden). This would be sufficient confirmation for most people but not for a curmudgeon like me, so herewith my slightly snarky reply below:
The remarkable new Er-Nox camera, as described and shown in a 1924 magazine ad by the venerable Central Camera Company of Chicago
“If Er-Nox is good enough for the Dresden Museum it’s good enough for me. This again is the original rigid bodied leather clad version of 1924 with the 10 cm f/2 Ernostar lens. We assume the name change to Ermanox occurred with the introduction of the 8.5 cm f/1.8 and 10.5 cm f/1.8 Ernostars that were unveiled later in 1924. However, absent an Ernemann brochure or catalog listing, that is by no means dispositive. Until someone comes up with actual factory catalogs showing that there was a transition and precisely when it occurred the history of the Ermanox will still be shrouded in some mystery.”
The clincher came quickly in an amazingly detailed post by Peter Göllner on the Ermanox forum on Facebook. Peter, who lives in Germany, is obviously as well informed on this arcane subject as anyone in the world and he was kind enough to include a facsimile of the page announcing the Er-Nox appearing in a 1924 Erremann catalog. Here’s the scoop in his own words, translated from the original German:
“The name Er-Nox is definitely not a myth; it really existed. Ernemann introduced the Er-Nox in the 2nd half of 1924 in an advertisement No. 912 of July 1924 and in Catalogue No. 1050 of September 1924. The camera was only available in 4.5 x 6 cm format and with the 10cm f/2 Ernostar lens under the name Er-Nox. At this point, the camera weighed approximately 1.6 kg. due to the (focusing) tube being made of brass. The camera was already presented as the Ermanox in a special print of the Berlin Stock Exchange Curier dated September 25th 1924 and also in December 1924 in Catalogue 1070. Now the weight of the camera was approximately 500 gr less, i.e. 1,1 kg.
The name change must have occurred at the end of September 1924 These times are also a good match with the registration of the trademark. The name Ermanox was applied for on October 1 1924 and issued on December 16, 1924. From May 1925 the Ermanox appeared additionally with the 8.5cm f/1.8 Ernostar. Both the 10cm f/2 and 8.5 cm f/1.8 optics were distributed together until the end. One can only speculate why they changed the name. The name Er-Nox had already been registered by Ernemann in 1914, so it was approximately 10 years old. Perhaps such an old name was no longer considered contemporary enough for such an innovative product. But that's just speculation.”
Official Ernemann Er-Nox flier kindly posted by Peter Göllner is proof positive that the Er-Nox was not a myth, just a first iteration Ermanox.
Who designed the Ermanox camera? We may never know for sure, but we can take an educated guess based on the following information kindly supplied by Todd Gustavson the man in charge of the photographic collection at the George Eastman House Museum in Rochester, NY.
“After poking around a bit, it looks to me like the design for the Ermanox evolved from a number of earlier Ernemann cameras. So, they basically combined the Bertele lens design to more-or-less already existing camera bodies; then they had to add the helical focusing.
Unfortunately, the various German patents for the Ermanox do not list an inventor. According to Larry Gubas’ book for Ernemann, August Muller and John Klein were the company's in-house designers at the time. Assuming that they were the gents behind the scenes who did the Ermanox might be a reasonable guess, but it would also be just that, a guess, since there is no direct evidence connecting them to the camera. Dave Jentz suggests that anyone who wants to know more about this subject should peruse Manfred Rehm's article about Ermanox in the PhotoDeal magazine Nr. 49 page 28 from 2005. It’s entitled “Die Nachtkamera Aus den 20er Jahren” and it’s in German.”
As some benighted researcher once said, “The struggle continues.”