The Spring 2002 issue continues to develop new materials on Zeiss Ikon prototype cameras from the immediate postwar period as well and the material on many variant prototypes of the Contarex camera discovered by Bernd Otto.

Our European members identify many cameras and developments not known previously to American and Asian collectors. There are important book reviews and a significant artifact from a famous Zeiss photographic designer.

The cover and article by Peter Hennig show the complexities and intricacies of the Contax metal vertical focal plane camera thanks to the work of Peter Hennig of Sweden.

This issue also includes a book review by Fred Watson with regard to the recent book by William Reid on Barr and Stroud binoculars entitled: "We're certainly not afraid of Zeiss."

Our annual meeting with celebrated guest speakers, Herbert Goldberg and Hubert Nerwin, Jr. is illustrated with several pages of engaging photographs.

The fall 2001 issue of our Journal highlights a great variety of articles on diverse Zeiss Ikon and Carl Zeiss subjects from locks and filters to dummy or display cameras.

The display Contax article submitted by Stefan Baumgartner shows a unique camera with cut out sections to show how specific functions such as film advancement and shutter operation work.

Ernemann advertising is discussed by Peter Göllner who is the author of the detailed book on Ernemann cameras.

There is a response to an earlier article on Hensoldt cameras by Peirpaolo Ghisetti who further illuminates this highly under developed area of Zeiss collections.

A nice clarification of the lineage of the "No-Name Contax" which is really a no name Kiev camera from Ukraine by Peter Hennig.

It is wonderful to notice the increased information coming from our European members.

This is the cover of the journal for Spring 2001. It has 24 pages of articles, rare advertisements and Zeiss related pictures not likely to be found or published anywhere else. The cover pages are not included in the pagination of the issue and have additional material.

This particular cover shows two pictures of the facing element or Bezel of a "Russian" Kiev camera made in 1947. The cover shows two pictures of the facing element of a Kiev camera made in 1947. The inside of the element clearly shows that it had originally been engraved with the Zeiss Ikon Contax trademark.

This means that this among other parts of the camera was probably originally made in Dresden or in a special postwar location near Jena in Saalfeld, Germany. It along with the production line was then taken to Kiev in Ukraine which was formerly part of the USSR . This would indicate it was a prototype or an old part that was later salvaged for later production use.

Another unique article discusses certain prototype lenses that never came to the market from Carl Zeiss during the years immediately after the war. It was written by Joachim Kämmerer who was the head of the lens design function at Carl Zeiss in Oberkochen and who had the actual draft design drawings and prototypes at a meeting of Zeiss Historica in 1989. These lenses would have created a sensation at the time of the design but for financial or timing reasons, they were never brought to market.

The issue from Autumn of 2000 covered totally different subjects and the table of contents will give an idea of the size and length of the material. There is a great deal of material on the history of the planetarium which was designed and implemented by the firm of Carl Zeiss Jena for the German National Museum during the years after World War I by Walter Bauersfeld. Zeiss is still making modern equivalents of this breathtaking innovation today and we discuss the newest Zeiss planetarium in the newly opened Space Center at the site of the former Hayden Planetarium in New York.

On the cover is the last series of cameras made under the banner of Carl Zeiss Jena before the East German Kombinat was dispersed in the early 1990s. It is quite a representative camera but since the firm left the camera manufacturing business, it was not continued. In addition, there are short biographies of the famed Zeiss scientists and designers Paul Rudolph and Walther Bauersfeld.

Annual Dividend - 2001

Each year, the Society selects a rare item for reproduction from the various Zeiss firms and sends it to the membership as a dividend for continuing participation in the society. It is the only such Photographic or Scientific Society to do so.

This year we published a forty page May 1938 Zeiss Ikon catalog which showed all of the cameras offered for sale and a great number of specialized accessories. These originals are very hard to find and the collective memberships does offer such items for consideration from time to time.

The 2002 dividend was two interesting pamphlets. The first is a reproduction of a 1952 catalog from Zeiss subsidiary Hensoldt when it celebrated it's 100th anniversary. This year is the 150th year of the firm. We also present a rare 4 page catalog on the Zeiss Goerz-Dagor lens also showing the super rare Hypergon

One of our most important projects was to compile a listing of all known Zeiss Ikon product numbers and their associated model or product name. This helps to find out what certain obscure items are when you encounter them