Leitz Enlarger: I have this E.Leitz ( Leica) enlarger, and I can not find any info on it. It was given to me by a WWII vet who was in Germany and several times after. I learned to make...

schoonerman

I have this E.Leitz ( Leica) enlarger, and I can not find any info on it. It was given to me by a WWII vet who was in Germany and several times after. I learned to make enlargements with it back in the 1960's. I have seen several kinda like it but not exactly the same. It has a helical focusing lens. I also have the matching easel made by Leitz.

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

schoonerman wrote:

I have this E.Leitz ( Leica) enlarger, and I can not find any info on it. It was given to me by a WWII vet who was in Germany and several times after. I learned to make enlargements with it back in the 1960's. I have seen several kinda like it but not exactly the same. It has a helical focusing lens. I also have the matching easel made by Leitz.

I had one and used it to make enlargements. It is a Leitz Wetzlar Focomat I enlarger.
They sell for around $250 on Ebay plus shipping

schoonerman

Not a Focomat, totally manual focus, the Focomats were all autofocusing according to the websites.

schoonerman

Here is a side view

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

schoonerman wrote:

I have this E.Leitz ( Leica) enlarger, and I can not find any info on it. It was given to me by a WWII vet who was in Germany and several times after. I learned to make enlargements with it back in the 1960's. I have seen several kinda like it but not exactly the same. It has a helical focusing lens. I also have the matching easel made by Leitz.

If it is not an autofocus, it is called a Valoy.

schoonerman

It looks to be an early 1930's Valoy.

https://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-wiki.en/index.php/File:EarlyEnlargers.jpg

Bipod

Are you sure it's not a whiskey still?

Quite nice that you've got the whole thing.
Just out of curiosity: is the lens an old Leitz?

Guess just about any enlarger lens woud fit--
I'm sure it's a Leitz screw mount (39 mm, 26 tpi).

If nothing else, it might be useful as an illuminator
for contact printing or making photograms.

DAN Phillips Loc: Graysville, GA

That is the very first enlarger I ever owned. I remember my first wife and I would set it up on the kitchen table and we spent many wonderful hours with it. Unfortunately, as I progressed, the enlarger did not and I went with Bessler, the wife went with a doctor.

schoonerman

Sadly the old Leitz lens is gone and replaced with a newer Komura lens. The old lens was really bad off when Harry replaced it. He also had a Luffwaffe Leica, which I didn't get, his son did instead. I got the color Agfa slide film that was in it when he took it off a downed pilot. I don't even want to talk about the Luger pistol he had.

daplight Loc: Kansas

I still have my 1C, sharpest 35mm enlarger I ever worked with. The Luffwafe Leica was 'olive drab' wasn't it. Certainly a collectors item, for both Leica and military collectors.

Flowergirl

😂😂😂

DAN Phillips wrote:

That is the very first enlarger I ever owned. I remember my first wife and I would set it up on the kitchen table and we spent many wonderful hours with it. Unfortunately, as I progressed, the enlarger did not and I went with Bessler, the wife went with a doctor.

Bipod

Never seen one of these in the flesh.

What are the "wings" on the sides of the negative holder?
How do you focus it?

I'm still using a 1950s Simmon Bros. Omega.

DAN Phillips Loc: Graysville, GA

The wings are for roll film, it lets you go from frame to fram without cutting the negative.

Bigmike1 Loc: I am from Gaffney, S.C. but live in Utah.

Interesting enlarger. I have one someone gave me before I moved back to Utah. I never did set up another dark room and the enlarger with my trays, etc has been in an old foot locker for almost 40 years now. Maybe one of these days I will go back to shooting black and white film and resurrect my dark room. Speaking of enlargers, I see 4X5 enlargers at the local thrift shop now for $10.00 or so. These used to cost over a thousand dollars in their day. It is sad to look at them and realize that they are headed to the local land fill.

aubreybogle Loc: Albuquerque, NM

Thank you for this trip back in time. I began my own processing of film and enlarging and printing in the late 50's in an upstairs closet. I could only dream of enlargers of this quality. I am tempted to buy one and start all over again.