Graflex.org

[fatsodoctor]

I'm trying to date a Crown Graphic camera as surely and precisely as possible. Trying to build a case that the camera in question took a particular photograph that was important to the Civil Rights Movement in the USA.

I've seen the various versions of the Graflex serial number catalogs. They invariably have a gap that does not account, with certainty, for the serial number range in which 880052 would fall.

The serial number on the Crown Graphic body is 880052. The serial number on the camera's 135mm Wollensak Optar lens is 905460. I don't have any reason to believe that this lens was not OEM. My best estimate at this point is that this camera was produced in the second half of 1952.

I've reached the limit of my own competence and I'm hoping that folks with real expertise might be able either to confirm or deny my hypothesis. Any information that would more certainly confirm the date of this camera's manufacture would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[45PSS]

[fatsodoctor]

Thanks for the response. Knowing that Graflex was producing batches of 1k to 3k helps a bit. I take it that your considered opinion is that a Crown with the s/n 880052 is more likely to have produced in early 1953, rather than late 1952.

[45PSS]