History of Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex Cameras

Recently I started restoring a vintage Ikoflex TLR camera. Before purchasing the camera I ultimately got, I did some internet research on Ikoflexes. They are not a particularly famous brand, so it was a little harder to get information about them. Fortunately, a lot of great information has been recorded at sites like the camera wiki, Pacific Rim Camera, and Barry Toogood’s TLR Cameras Website. As great as these sites are, there seems to be some minor discrepancies between them in places. Having received some basic training as a historian, I wanted to look over the primary sources. As I started gathering source material and sorting through references to the somewhat confusing Ikoflex model designations, I started taking notes. Rather than just keeping my notes to myself, I thought I would contribute back to the internet by posting them.

The title suggests that this post will contain some sort of narrative history of Ikoflex cameras. But, it doesn’t really. It’s mostly data I grabbed from other sources, organized in a way that makes sense to me. This page is a work in progress, so I will continue to update it as I learn more.

Models

The history of the Ikoflex line of cameras is bisected by World War II. So, there are pre-war cameras, a void when the war was raging, and post-war cameras. The post-war cameras start out being just a continuation of the pre-war models: I (850-16), II (852-16), and maybe III (853-16). While researching I found references to new Ikoflex III’s being sold after the war, but it’s not clear if those were produced after the war if they were old stock.

It makes sense that Zeiss Ikon would be happy to just get back to producing the same quality cameras it had been making before the war. The war was very destructive for most of the world. The company was located in Dresden, a city who’s fate was documented in Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five. And, after the war a portion of the company moved to the opposite side of the country – from Dresden to Stuttgart – to escape the fate of the portion. Russia requisitioned the latter’s equipment to help rebuild their own destroyed photography industry.

The real post-war models, when the company was innovating and not just rebuilding, seem to begin with the Ia and the IIa. The models with lowercase letters, and the Favorit, represent true post-war models to me.

Table Notes

1. Sometimes called Ikoflex I (when below was named Ikoflex II), also nicknamed the “coffee can”
2. Was originally named Ikoflex II with number 851-16, took over the name Ikoflex I and number 850-16 when the coffee can model was discontinued
3. Was originally named Ikoflex III, took over Ikoflex II when the coffee can model was discontinued, number stayed the same

Data from Primary Sources

The only primary sources I really have are: Zeiss brochures, dealer price lists, and camera shop advertisements. Maybe the company contributed their documents to an archive somewhere, but it would be in Germany and I won’t be traveling there soon, so I am limited to what I can find on the internet. As I looked through these sources I was noting the models available at the time. I tried to find material from various countries. It seems that models may have been selectively available by country at times. If I want to understand what was being produced, then I need to take a more wholistic view.

The table below records the year of the source, how it referenced the Ikoflex line, and the options which it stated were available. I don’t explicitly state the country of origin, mostly because I cannot say for sure. However, the prices are usually a giveaway, which is why I include them. The prices themselves are not super useful since sometimes it represents the dealer prices, but normally it represents the retail price.

Table Notes

1. Ikoflex II (851-16) was pictured
2. Federal Register: 9 Fed. Reg. 2531 (Mar. 7, 1944).

Lens Serial Numbers

All of this information comes from Jason Greenberg Motamedi’s website, he cataloged it from other sources which are no longer available. He lists serial numbers for other old large format lense manufacturers too, so if you want information on non-Zeiss lenses take a look at his site.

Pre-war: Carl Zeiss Jena Serial Numbers

Post-war: Carl Zeiss Jena, East Germany

Post-war: Carl Zeiss (Opton), Oberkochen, West Germany

References

• Camera-wiki.org
• TLR Cameras Website
• Padific Rim Camera
• Zeisscamera.com

Credits

• Cover photo: Library of Congress, call number LC-USF34-029239-D
• Pre-war models: Emanuel, Walter Daniel, Ikoflex Guide: How to Make Full Use of your Ikoflex (New York: Focal Press, 1957)