Hello--I'm a researcher in New York, at work on a book about the photographer Arthur Fellig, a.k.a. Weegee. I am hoping the Soviet-camera specialists here can help clarify some information I have. (I have Googled it every which way already, and I have come up empty.)
In the fall of 1963, Weegee was staying in London, where he met with representatives of T.O.E., the company that imported Zenit cameras to the UK. They invited him to visit Moscow and Leningrad to tour the company's facilities, and he went. He makes reference in his letters to a woman he calls "Auntie," who, he says, had secured the import-export deal with KMZ. Her partner, he said, was named Rafael, and they (Auntie and Rafael) had an employee who ran the service department named Charles Saunders.
Does anyone here know who these folks are? Extremely grateful for any clues or other leads I can chase.
Write an e- mail to the dutch collectors club of photograpic equiptment with your request and see if you can get in contact with Sjaak Boone. He interviewed one of the employees of EWA (East- West Agencies) in the Netherlands. EWA was set up separately from TOE, but they worked closely together.
I Suggest contact Mr Georgy Abramov from the site Photohystory.ru I believe he certainly has a litterature about this matter. Those times were important years concerning development of cameras world over. Best regards LP
camera-history question
Posted - Jun 11 2017 : 4:13:36 PM
