Gundlach-Manhattan Optical Co.
Date Introduced: 1900 ; Years Manufactured: c. 1900-1903
Construction: front focus via rack and pinion (two gear tracks on top of base rails); double swing; reversing by removable back; three-piece lensboard
Materials: mahogany body, cherry base, black fabric bellows; nickeled hardware
Sizes Offered: 6.5×8.5 (above);8×10
Notes: To paraphrase George Eastman, people like names with k’s in them. Korona was used for two different view cameras and a host of leather-covered hand cameras. The back of the camera has been painted black. The camera is not present in the 1899 Korona catalog (in fact, no view cameras are), and the preface to the 1900 catalog states that two styles of view camera are offered for the first time.
References:
Korona Cameras, Lenses, Photographic Goods, Gundlach Optical Co. (Rochester, NY) Catalog, 1900, pp. 20
Jas. H. Smith & Co. (Chicago, IL) Catalog, July 1 1901, p. 22
Korona Cameras, Gundlach Optical Co. (Rochester, NY) Catalog, 1902, p. 21
1903 Koronas, Gundlach-Manhattan Optical Co., (Rochester, NY) Catalog, 1903, p. 41
