Author Topic: A Funny Thing Happened To Me Today At Work  (Read 5079 times)

Ed Wenn

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A Funny Thing Happened To Me Today At Work
« on: March 18, 2009, 02:28:01 PM »
As so often happens in life (not!), the bloke who sits next to me in the office comes from a family steeped in UK photography history. He is the grandson of one of the two men who set up the Corfield photo/camera/engineering company in the late 1940s (in Wolverhampton).  There's a great website - http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/Museum/CorfieldCameras/corfield.htm - which gives detail of the company and what they went onto manufacture. Absolutely worth reading if you have a spare 20 minutes and the site from which all but one of the following photos have been taken.

Anyway, it turns out that Corfield made really decent cameras; initially the 35mm Leica-esque Periflex range which featured a unique periscope-style focussing system (hence the name, Periflex). Check out these clean lines:









Later they produced an uber sexy & VERY Great Wall-esque 6x6 MF SLR which has got me super excited (unfortunately only  a few hundred were made so it'll be hard to track one down).


(image courtesy of http://www.novacon.com.br/odditycameras/corfield.htm)


Finally, the founder of the company, Sir Kenneth Corfield, produced a 6x7 architectural camera called, The Architect (see what he did there), which I think looks pretty damn cool too.



All in all it's been an interesting day at work for a change.

« Last Edit: March 18, 2009, 02:30:15 PM by ed.wenn »

Stu

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Re: A Funny Thing Happened To Me Today At Work
« Reply #1 on: March 18, 2009, 03:08:16 PM »
Nice. Second photo down I want. Well, less the photo, more the actual camera!

gregor

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Re: A Funny Thing Happened To Me Today At Work
« Reply #2 on: March 18, 2009, 03:11:24 PM »
cool cameras - there's even a couple of the Corfield 66 up on e-bay for around the 100 USD range.  On ebay listing indicates that the company was bought by Guinesss, when production stopped.  Maybe an e-bayish type misinformation/rumour. Perhaps your colleague can verify that?

tijeras

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Re: A Funny Thing Happened To Me Today At Work
« Reply #3 on: March 18, 2009, 03:20:33 PM »
wow, Mr. Wenn, what serendipity!

I'm with Stu, that second one is very appealing.


Thanks for the post.    :)

Ed Wenn

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Re: A Funny Thing Happened To Me Today At Work
« Reply #4 on: March 18, 2009, 04:01:02 PM »
On ebay listing indicates that the company was bought by Guinesss, when production stopped.  Maybe an e-bayish type misinformation/rumour. Perhaps your colleague can verify that?

The Guinness thing is 100% accurate. They helped out when Corfield needed some extra financing. By that point the manufacturing part of the business had moved to Northern Ireland.

Those 2 examples on evilBay are worth keeping an eye on; I'm 'watching' them, but can't really justify another purchase seeing as how I'm selling my Great Wall to Susan B....doesn't really make sense to buy something which will be almost exactly the same (although probably better build quality).

In related news the camera related conversation seems to have worked in my favour because the bloke who sits the other side of me in the office has just offered to GIVE me a deceased relative's old Leica (no idea which model or what type of condition, but hey, it's a Leica!). It's been in a drawer at home for 20 years and he'd rather it was being used than not. Good stuff.
« Last Edit: March 18, 2009, 04:17:51 PM by ed.wenn »

Nigel

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Re: A Funny Thing Happened To Me Today At Work
« Reply #5 on: March 18, 2009, 04:04:41 PM »
That Periflex is a beauty, having said that the Corfield isn't too shabby either.

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Karl

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Re: A Funny Thing Happened To Me Today At Work
« Reply #6 on: March 18, 2009, 04:12:42 PM »
A couple of years ago we had a photographic records survey done of our venue, the Usher Hall in Edinburgh, and the photographer was using the Corfield Architect. Needless to say I hung around him longer than would have been considered normal.
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Ed Wenn

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Re: A Funny Thing Happened To Me Today At Work
« Reply #7 on: March 18, 2009, 04:19:44 PM »
Needless to say I hung around him longer than would have been considered normal.

 :D :D

Did you talk to him about the camera at all?


tijeras

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Re: A Funny Thing Happened To Me Today At Work
« Reply #8 on: March 18, 2009, 05:25:36 PM »
wow again Ed.
I feel like I'm reading a Happily ever after story!
 :) :)

salvo

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Re: A Funny Thing Happened To Me Today At Work
« Reply #9 on: March 18, 2009, 06:09:35 PM »
............

In related news the camera related conversation seems to have worked in my favour because the bloke who sits the other side of me in the office has just offered to GIVE me a deceased relative's old Leica (no idea which model or what type of condition, but hey, it's a Leica!). It's been in a drawer at home for 20 years and he'd rather it was being used than not. Good stuff.

nice one Ed!! ....what i only ever got was colleagues talking all the time about Watford or Chelsea FC's....  ::)

choppert

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Re: A Funny Thing Happened To Me Today At Work
« Reply #10 on: March 18, 2009, 06:54:45 PM »
nice one Ed!! ....what i only ever got was colleagues talking all the time about Watford or Chelsea FC's....  ::)

And I've been working from home today, and Basil the Schnauzer rarely talks photography or cameras with me.
But on a happier note, he also mentioned neither Watford nor Chelsea either....  Which was nice!
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gothamtomato

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Re: A Funny Thing Happened To Me Today At Work
« Reply #11 on: March 18, 2009, 08:08:17 PM »
I really thought you were going to end the story by saying you discovered he was your long lost brother.

Francois

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Re: A Funny Thing Happened To Me Today At Work
« Reply #12 on: March 18, 2009, 10:28:11 PM »
Nice! For once, not having a co-worker who thinks little of photography (or something similar) is simply great news. The best thing I've been told at work goes along the lines of "I too can buy myself a Kodak and take fantastic pictures"... yeah, right :)

The Corfields were really good from what I read. They are often considered as the British Leica... not too shabby.

Also, having a co-worker who doesn't know the value of a Leica is priceless!

When you get it, I want to see it :)
Francois

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gary m

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Re: A Funny Thing Happened To Me Today At Work
« Reply #13 on: March 18, 2009, 10:37:17 PM »
That Corfield 66 looks sweet. My McKeowns  2005-2006 Camera price guide says - reportedly only 300 made. Value listed at 275-425 dollars US>

CamerAsian

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Re: A Funny Thing Happened To Me Today At Work
« Reply #14 on: March 19, 2009, 02:18:20 AM »
Sweet story. I posted a link to this thread on Photo.net's Leica & Rangefinder forum and see that the first response (by a Brit) also has a back story of sorts. The Periflex seems a serendipitous little camera. http://photo.net/leica-rangefinders-forum/00SnaZ
« Last Edit: March 19, 2009, 10:26:37 AM by CamerAsian »

Stu

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Re: A Funny Thing Happened To Me Today At Work
« Reply #15 on: March 19, 2009, 10:17:21 AM »
I am a Leica nut. A nut... I love them.
This doesn't happen to me! Nice story. Let's hope it's a mint condition black M2!

gregor

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Re: A Funny Thing Happened To Me Today At Work
« Reply #16 on: March 22, 2009, 06:40:36 AM »
an office mate giving you a Leica?  An amazing act of generosity - I would include his children in my will if I were you !