Rescued and Restored From a Living Tomb.....A 19" Goerz Berlin Dagor. No Reserve

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When I was old enough to understand such things my Grandpa Rodag� would allow me into his lens room,� Glass twinkled against shiny golden brass in contrast to black painted barrels it was what we'd now call his 'man cave' and was full of all sorts of optical toys made by every maker under the sun. Of all the lenses though, he was most and rightly proud of his Goerz collection. One particular day I noticed that in his orderly case there was an empty spot where a serial number, receipt and a small photograph of a mountain lay, I asked him about it.Rodag sighed and sat heavily in his worn old club chair, reaching over to a giant Sutton Panoramic Water lens he had converted into a decanter he poured himself a healthy dram. He collected his thoughts and told me a most extraordinary tale….. Many many years ago in the teenage days his best friend was Angus Chick, he and his parents came from Aberdeen and were of the wealthy upwardly mobile sort. Rodag and Angus would play in the hills surrounding the family castle inventing all kinds of swashbuckling situations in their minds, go 'mountain climbing'� in some of the steeper hills and otherwise play games that didn't come pre-packaged in a box at Best Buy.� They shared an interest in photography, but Angus had a love of rocks and minerals so it came as no surprise that he later became a geologist to his property tycoon fathers dismay. The spring holidays were upon them and it was then that Angus told Rodag of the news, he and his family were emigrating� to America, this came as quite a shock to both but being young they quickly rebounded and promised to write with all the news. Following a sad farewell at the docks the two boys kept up their letter writing campaign and over the years tales of interests in both lenses and ladies filled many a page. The bright sunny days of California made for far faster exposures than what Angus was accustomed, he could finally use a larger plate camera that he craved. But he needed a good lens to cover his new 16x20 and Rodag mailed him a 19" Goerz Dagor, it was his prized possession. Rodag had bought the lens in Paris ten years before after a single demonstration with a large camera atop the Eiffel Tower which was then just twelve years old, with infinity in every corner he clearly saw that the Goerz Double Anastigmat was an incredible optic. Angus's father settled in Los Angeles and immediately began land speculation and development, the movie business was burgeoning and so was oil, in fact a small companies got its drilling start there… Shell. One of his more interesting purchases that paid off handsomely was some land where he built a livery stable , a few years later as money flowed into the downtown area he was made an offer he couldn't refuse and became partners with a fellow developer, and so the great Alexandria Hotel was born. The hotel was the grandest and most luxurious place in town, Presidents, Generals and movie stars mingled in the Palm Ballroom and Angus was front and center to take advantage of the female delights it offered. After many years of sowing his wild orange pips Angus learned to appreciate the quiet warmth of Lillie,� the daughter of his Fathers partner, and their playful friendship grew into something more. Rodag perceived a change in his letter writing and the mention of 'ladies' became the singular, Angus was in love. Many months of courtship preceded the announcement of impending nuptials. As a gift to the wedding couple both Fathers built a luxurious light-filled suite at the very top of the Alexandria, it was an amazingly generous gift with views to this day unequaled. From Rodag Angus was given 'officially' the 19" Goerz lens, Rodag had long since given up on expecting its return and besides, he had already purchased two others. The lens took pride of place on the big ebony 16x20 camera placed on a sturdy tripod that overlooked Los Angeles, it was a mesmerizing sight to watch life pass by of the ground glass. With his diploma in geology, Angus was hired by the Department of the I... read more

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