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Fed NKVD with odd serial numbers

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T O P I C R E V I E W
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 11 2018 : 11:24:39 AM Hello, I have received yesterday a strange Fed S, s/n 25726. Its features are from the NKVD 1d type, but the number comes from the 1b series. It puts once more a question which has not been solved: why these serial numbers? I own several of these strange NKVD-s (I am not alone!) and perhaps we could discuss together about mine and yours... First some photos of this Fed S s/n 25726: the cover and the front. http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/1172018_IMG_0110.JPG http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/1172018_IMG_0114.JPG Nothing extraordinary, except the s/n. The vulcanite is typical of the early 1d-s (I would say up to c.110000).
97 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First)
AlexanderK	Posted - Jun 22 2024 : 07:30:49 AM Hi, after seeing the various engraving stencils for the FED-1 camera made in the early 90's, I am no longer surprised by anything. Nevertheless I think it was fault engraving, we can see this on FED-1 camera rather often. Regards, Alexander
Jacques M.	Posted - Jun 16 2024 : 07:38:31 AM It's possibly a Frankenstein camera, Ulrich. But a cover of 1b with 2850 as serial number, that does not exist "officially"... Very interesting camera! Jacques.
uwittehh	Posted - Jun 14 2024 : 3:20:28 PM Jacques, interesting possibilities. I also own one with an odd number, camera has serial number 2850 and the lens hat 117445. Compared to the photos on Ilyas (Aidas') site it looks like a PE0217, but looking closer at it it seems to be a "Frankenstein", the body is from a later (in the 110.000 range) but the top is rounded. Nevertheless an interesting camera. Ulrich http://fotos.cconin.de
Jacques M.	Posted - Jun 14 2024 : 08:18:41 AM Thanks, Ulrich! I am really happy to own ten of these cameras. And the subject is far from being closed. But I have tried to summarize a bit that topic It seems that these odd numbers could be due to: - a warranty exchange. The camera doesn't work and the factory prefers the exchange rather than the repair. In that case, the original serial number is kept (Leitz did the same for the Leicas). The Fed s/n 1520 can belong to that category: the original 1a did not work and was exchanged against a 1b, some months later. Not too astonishing for an early 1a... - an exchange with improvement, from an ordinary NKVD towards an S. The original number is kept once more (idem for the Leicas). For example, the 1b s/n 25726 which became a 1d S. - an error of engraving. For example, the s/n 1126. A missing cipher (a "2" here) and the serial number is 1126 and not 21126, as it should be, by all its features, even the most specific ones. - another (exciting!) possibility: a small series of numbers reserved by the factory (for the police, the army...) and made and delivered later. That could be the case of the s/n 67588 and 67610: reserved in june 1938 (serial number) and made in december 1939 (scratched date inside and lenses). For the moment, I have not found any other serial numbers between these two ones... A pity! In fact, I am struck by the homogeneity of these cameras: they were not mounted from spare parts and each of them can be dated by its features... If you own or know such cameras, don't hesitate to post, please. And the discussion remains open, of course. Amiti�s. Jacques.
uwittehh	Posted - Jun 13 2024 : 3:47:51 PM Jacques, nice find. The "lizard" vulcanite leathering is already quite rare, but to find one with a wrongly engraved serial number, congratulations :-) Ulrich http://fotos.cconin.de
Jacques M.	Posted - Jun 12 2024 : 07:53:44 AM This camera has all the features of an "ordinary" Fed 1b with a lizard vulcanite, s/n from c. 125xx to 15xxx. Mainly the cover with - a depression under the speed button, - a "narrow" engraving, - the left shape of the cover which is (more or less) in straight line. http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent2/1262024_IMG_1686.JPG By comparison, the s/n 4580, which is too an odd numbered 1b (shown above), also with a lizard vulcanite, belongs to the 25/26xxx 1b by its cover: - without depression under the speed button, - with a larger engraving, - with a curved left shape. All the rest is identical. Amiti�s. Jacques.
Jacques M.	Posted - Jun 12 2024 : 07:42:39 AM Another odd numbered Fed here: the s/n 1520 with a "lizard" vulcanite. http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent2/1262024_IMG_1677.JPG http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent2/1262024_IMG_1678.JPG
Jacques M.	Posted - Mar 09 2024 : 05:26:07 AM Thanks, Ulrich. That seems correct: I have 14/VII inside for my s/n 232140 and 25/8 for the s/n 236680 (with a selftimer). Amiti�s. Jacques.
uwittehh	Posted - Mar 08 2024 : 5:26:30 PM Jacques, I have a FED with serial 231581 for service here now. On the shutter is 10-VI-50 scrachted in. Ulrich http://fotos.cconin.de
Jacques M.	Posted - Nov 26 2023 : 03:41:33 AM About the pin of the lock. By my data, the 3mm pin was used up to the # 81543 (3mm pin) / 83515 (5mm pin) in the 1c range. 5mm pin after up to the end of the Fed 1. The # 67588 (and 67610) has a 5mm pin (photo above) because it is in fact a 1d. My other 66/67xxx 1c-s have 3mm pins. Amiti�s. Jacques.
Jacques M.	Posted - Nov 26 2023 : 03:24:12 AM Hi Ulrich! Many thanks for your answer! I completely agree with you: the serial number of a lens is originally close to the number of the body. For example, the lens # 111956 was mounted on the body # 111169, with 14 XI 1939 as a date of passport (my data). That means that when a lens is original, it can be used to date a body. If the # 67588 and 67610 were 1c-s, as they should, the lenses would be in the 67/70000 range. But their lenses are in the 113xxx range, and both very close. So, very probably, they are original. If we had to date them, we could say end nov. 1939/beginning dec.1939 (cf the passport of the 111956, above). So, the two "odd" cameras should have been mounted and equipped with their lenses at that same period. All that is coherent with the scratched dates inside the odd cameras: 1/XII and 2/XII which are the dates of checking the shutters. Of course, that is not an absolute proof. What do you think? It would be fine to find other 1d-s in the 67xxx range! Amiti�s. Jacques.
uwittehh	Posted - Nov 25 2023 : 4:40:36 PM Jacques, I just love the last picture with the 5 FEDs :-) I took a look in my serial numbers and have seen that I don't have a FED with 66xxx or 67xxx. So between the 66xxx and the 67xxx the bottom lock gets bigger. To the lens serial numbers: I always thought that the camera and lens serial numbers are equal within a range. But now your 66 and 67 have 113 xxx lenses. That's a bit strange to me. My FED with 51xxx has a lens with 57xxx and the one with 71xxx has a lens with 72xxx. A camera with 112xxx has a lens with 113xxx. So what do you think why yours have a 113xxx serial number? Ulrich http://fotos.cconin.de
Jacques M.	Posted - Nov 25 2023 : 05:41:13 AM And a photo of the 5 NKVD in the 66/67xxx range: http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent2/25112023_IMG_1437.JPG All questions and comments are welcome! Amiti�s. Jacques.
Jacques M.	Posted - Nov 25 2023 : 05:37:39 AM A comparison beween the # 66674 (regular 1c) and the # 67588: http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent2/25112023_IMG_1438.JPG The # 67588 is above: http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent2/25112023_IMG_1439.JPG The 67588 is on the right http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent2/25112023_IMG_1440.JPG
Jacques M.	Posted - Nov 25 2023 : 05:32:22 AM Some photos. The # 67588 and 67610 side by side: http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent2/25112023_IMG_1423.JPG The serial numbers of the two lenses: http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent2/25112023_IMG_1431.JPG
Jacques M.	Posted - Nov 24 2023 : 10:23:59 AM So, the s/n 67588 is here. In all features, it is the same as the s/n 67610: same CCCP engraving, same 5mm pin lock for the base plate, etc. More important, same steel magnetic shutter case and press film (brass for the 1c-s and 1d- up to 105/110000). As for the internal date of checking, things are clear too. 1/XII for the 67588 and 2/XII for the 67610. These two cameras were made at the same time, and their serial number cannot be an error. Just the same about the lenses. Lenses are often mixed and cannot be a proof in themselves. But here, we are lucky. The Industar 10 # 113915/83/0 is on the body # 67588 and the 113869/20/0 was on the 67610. That suggests that the lenses are original and can be used as a base to determine the real range of the bodies. We usually find lenses of this range on 1d-s around # 110000/115000. For example, the 1d # 111169 has the lens 111956, by my data. And this camera has a passport dated 14 XI 1939. To compare with the dates of checking of the two odd cameras (1/XII and 2/XII)... So I have no real doubt: these two cameras were mounted in november/december 1939. Probably a small series was made: it would be interesting to examine more deeply that question. But I can tell that the 66674, 67723, 67724 are ordinary Fed 1c: they belong to my collection. Certainly, a series of serial numbers was reserved in july 1938, date of making of the regular 1c in the 67000 range. But why and for whom?... Photos to come. Amiti�s. Jacques.
Jacques M.	Posted - Nov 19 2023 : 09:16:33 AM Hello, Perhaps something new about this thread. A CCCP 1d s/n 67588 should soon be here. Of course, I will compare it closely to the other CCCP 1d s/n 67610, a camera which we already spoke of here. I am very surprised to see two odd numbered Feds with so close serial numbers. That could suggest a small series for administration or else, which was Bill's supposition... Amiti�s.
Jacques M.	Posted - May 27 2023 : 03:29:36 AM Yes, Ulrich. On the early Fed 1a, the "locking bar" was screwed, like on the Leicas, then it was riveted. I have just checked my Fed 1a-s: this bar is riveted on the s/n 5431 and screwed on the 1453, 3132 and 4642. It would not be normal to have a 1b with a screw bar. I think that the original 1a s/n 4557 (which certainly had a screwed bar) was defective and the whole camera was exchanged against an early 1b taken on the assembly line, on which the 1a number was engraved (the same was made by Leitz for the Leicas). That explains the riveted bar and the green curtains. The date scratched inside must be a 1b's, not 1a's. But you know all that! Amiti�s. Jacques.
uwittehh	Posted - May 26 2023 : 5:18:43 PM Jacques, I have inspected my 4232, unfortunatelly there are no numbers scratched in. But can you check if the part where the bottom locks in (near the two screws for the spring tension are) it screwed in or rivited? On mine this part is screwed. On my 5899 and the 7102 this part is rivited. Ulrich http://fotos.cconin.de
Jacques M.	Posted - May 23 2023 : 02:59:39 AM Thanks for the date, Ulrich. In fact, I have 2/2/IV or 2/R/IV on mine. So, very probably both cameras were made in april (1935). Our two cameras are twins by all their features. And mine was certainly an exchange under warranty: the original 1a is only some months earlier. But is it the case too for all the others? Probably not... Amiti�s. Jacques.
uwittehh	Posted - May 22 2023 : 2:48:54 PM Jacques, a very nice find, the FED with the green curtains. I think those cameras are rare. Btw, are other colors than green known? Some Leicas have red curtains as I know. I took a look inside my 7102, on the right bottom of the shutter housing is "4/17 IV" scratched in. Ulrich http://fotos.cconin.de
Jacques M.	Posted - May 22 2023 : 07:46:18 AM And this s/n 4557 has green curtains: http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent2/2252023_IMG_1123.JPG ... exactly like Ulrich's 1b s/n 7102, here: http://ussrphoto.com/Forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3166&SearchTerms=fed,green,curtain Internal date: 2 IV. Ulrich, do you have a date inside your s/n 7102? That would be interesting to know... Amiti�s. Jacques.
Jacques M.	Posted - May 22 2023 : 07:35:05 AM I go on digging... That time, it's a very early 1b, without accessory clip, with a 1a serial number: http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent2/2252023_IMG_1116.JPG http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent2/2252023_IMG_1117.JPG Probably the original Fed 1a s/n was exchanged against a very early 1b for some reason (certainly repair)
Jacques M.	Posted - Apr 17 2023 : 11:22:57 AM Another 1b for this thread: http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent2/1742023_IMG_1099.JPG http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent2/1742023_IMG_1100.JPG This s/n 1611 is exactly like my s/n 47042, in all details, especially the profile of the release button. Lens s/n 49908. For the inside date: only X. So october? But why no day, as usual? Would that mean something? In my s/n 47042, the inside date is 22 IX. Comments are welcome! Amiti�s. Jacques.
Jacques M.	Posted - Jun 10 2022 : 10:24:33 AM Another Fed camera with a strange number http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent2/1062022_fed 9709 1.jpg http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent2/1062022_fed 9709 2.jpg In fact, an ordinary 1d, as it seems, but with a Fed 1b serial number. I have no other detail about it and could not buy it: too expensive. But the explanation could be a missing cipher (s/n 97x09, for example). Amiti�s. Jacques. Amiti�s. Jacques.
Jacques M.	Posted - Aug 23 2020 : 05:27:52 AM A friend of mine asks for some other photos of this #67610. Here they are. http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent2/2382020_IMG_0202.JPG http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent2/2382020_IMG_0205.JPG http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent2/2382020_IMG_0207.JPG
Jacques M.	Posted - Aug 20 2020 : 11:13:31 AM Well, the s/n 67610 is here. No doubt: it's a 1d with all its features. The shutter box (iron sheet) and the film plate (magnetic, with hole) denote a camera in the c. 110000/150000 range, if all is original. The s/n of the lens (113869) confirms that possibility. That time, no possible "missing cipher" (167610 would be too far), so, no question to try and find a twin in that range: with such a serial number, it's impossible... Very happy to get a mysterious camera more! Amiti�s. Jacques. PS: date engraved inside: 2/XII. So, the shutter box was regularly controlled.
Jacques M.	Posted - Aug 12 2020 : 10:05:58 AM A new NKVD with odd s/n should soon arrive here. Here is a photo of the seller: http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent2/1282020_sans-titre.png A s/n of 67610 (1c) is impossible with the CCCP engraving (1d). At first sight, it should be an error of engraving with a "1" missing on the s/n. More photos when I receive it. Amiti�s. Jacques.
Jacques M.	Posted - Nov 12 2018 : 09:40:49 AM So, the mystery remains unsolved. This camera is really very well mounted, for me, better than the other Fed NKVD I have seen. But when was it made? Why? And what about the magnetic frame counter, the special release spring, the plaque inside the bottom, the absence of date inside and of course this odd serial number? Amiti�s. Jacques. PS: Don't hesitate to ask for other photos, if you have ideas.
Jacques M.	Posted - Nov 12 2018 : 09:28:53 AM http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/12112018_IMG_0688.JPG http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/12112018_IMG_0695.JPG No hole for a possible connecting rod for slow speeds. And a very ingenious and simple shade with a cut to allow the movement of the diaphragm lever.
Jacques M.	Posted - Nov 12 2018 : 09:21:20 AM http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/12112018_IMG_0672.JPG http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/12112018_IMG_0680.JPG So, nothing extraordinary. The press film with its screw to fix it is common until s/n 12xxxx/13xxxx. It's more interesting to remark that a place has been scraped: it's there that the day and month of mounting are usually engraved... Certainly, that means something... No engraving on the shutter box as well.
Jacques M.	Posted - Nov 12 2018 : 09:14:02 AM I had to dismount my s/n 25726 to see if there is something strange inside. At least, I have just done it. But I could not remove the cover as the VF/RF windows are too tightly screwed. It's certainly a long time since somebody had a look inside... http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/12112018_IMG_0671.JPG
Vlad	Posted - Jul 31 2018 : 1:33:54 PM Bill, I absolutely agree, no point of guessing here, it's counterproductive and creates a lot of false facts. Best regards, Vlad
nightphoto	Posted - Jul 31 2018 : 11:44:00 AM Hi Vlad, Me too. I have no idea and was just relaying what the guy Igor said and thought. But he did go out and take photos of a different (smaller red brick) building that he said was a FED building. I don't know if any of these theories are correct. They all seem a little off. My best guess is that these cameras were numbered differently because they were used by an official agency, or as Guido said, for an update. Sometimes it is better to wait until the answer becomes apparent. Regards, Bill
Vlad	Posted - Jul 30 2018 : 11:28:03 AM Bill, that's interesting. I'm just conveying the word of a person who lives in that area... I don't know what to think now . Best regards, Vlad
nightphoto	Posted - Jul 30 2018 : 11:27:06 AM When you go to google street view for "Sumskaya 135 Kharkov" you can see what I believe is the old FED factory. Now it seems to be the "Kharkov Aviation Factory" or something similar. Probably this may have been where the new FED building was and the old one was close, in Lesopark, but smaller and the original factory? Probably "Lesopark 27" may have been an area or group of buildings, rather than a particular building? Remember this was 80 years ago so your friend in Kharkov may not be old enough to have seen these changes? Regards, Bill
nightphoto	Posted - Jul 30 2018 : 10:23:48 AM Vlad, Although I no longer have the photographs, Igor went and took photos of both locations, so I'm not sure that they are the same building. If I remember correctly, the smaller building was several blocks from the main FED factory. I would think that as they expanded production, they must have expanded their space too? Regards, Bill
Vlad	Posted - Jul 29 2018 : 8:34:25 PM Bill, et al, I've talked to my contact in Kharkov who is familiar with FED factory and its location, basically Lesopark 27 and Sumskaya 135 or whatever number it was it's the same one building, Lesopark is just a larger area that spans 9km like a forest preserve complex surrounding the factory. So the address was apparently written either/or sometime in second half of 1930s. Best regards, Vlad
nightphoto	Posted - Jul 29 2018 : 1:23:44 PM As far as I can tell from the e-mail correspondence with Igor, he did not have a reason for the separate additional location for FED. But, from my own research, it appears that this was around the time when FED was expanding rapidly and so would have needed more space for all types of manufacturing, servicing, assembly, and clerical work. So it stands to reason that if there was another location, that expansion may be the reason. As far as an old passport being altered by being 'washed', it is very unlikely. I am an art dealer by profession and know quite a bit about methods that are used to alter paper and the printed and handwritten images on it. It would be difficult, if not impossible to wash (usually using a water and bleach solution) the type of cheap paper that was used on FED passports of this era. It is possible to do so on later, better quality paper such as that used on vehicle documents, which are printed on a higher grade of paper, especially after WWII. So in my opinion, not likely or impossible in this case. Also.on this porous, large-grain type of passport paper, washing would easily show and that does not appear to be the case on this one. Regards, Bill
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 29 2018 : 11:28:11 AM I had not seen Bill's correspondence (other page). Many thanks! Really interesting. The two locations could explain the differences of dates I have found. But why mount these odd cameras elsewhere? Would it be a special location for special demands: repairs, upgrading, series for administration, etc.?
Vlad	Posted - Jul 29 2018 : 10:52:25 AM Bill, thank you for posting your correspondence! I remember we did discuss this before on this forum. I have a contact in Kharkov I can try to see if he knows something as well about the second location. Best regards, Vlad
cedricfan	Posted - Jul 29 2018 : 09:08:43 AM Passport is no solid evidence. The text can be "washed" and rewritten. This was done to several vehicle passports that were sold to west after USSR collapsed. Exhaust & equipment regulations in west were more strict. Non-privately owned vehicles became private and could be sold. Even I had one with non authentic papers... Best regards, Juhani
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 29 2018 : 07:51:55 AM Me again. Sorry! I have just checked the dates engraved inside the body, on the shutter box, by the worker who mounted the camera. I hoped that these dates could tell us something about the insertion of these odd cameras in the regular numbering. In fact, there is nothing completely clear if we compare the "twins": - (2)1126 : I (mark,not date).........- 21225 : 25 IV (1936) - (6)2092 : 26 III....................- 59349 : 19 III (1938) - (3)3631 : 14 I......................- 34270 : 29 XII (1936) - (2)4580 : 17 III....................- 25617 : 27 VII scratched and replaced by 7 III (1936). - (1)25726: nothing. Just two remarks. - The odd numbers seem a bit delayed (several weeks), compared to the "twin" of the regular production. The time to check cameras belonging to a special series? But we have only three comparisons: not enough to be sure of anything. - There is nothing inside the s/n 25726, which is exceptional. My Fed Arsenal and one of my Fed NKAP only are in that case! These dates will disappear somewhere in 1950. Jacques.
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 29 2018 : 02:38:08 AM The s/n 4875 is very interesting too. By the features, it belongs to a s/n 10000-20000. 14875 would be correct. About upgrading, we had already discussed about this hypothesis in a previous thread (impossible to find it with the "search" function?). Leitz and Zeiss had already done that for their Leicas and Contaxes. A very interesting idea. But for the moment, I don't "feel" a general explanation which could fit all the cases. Jacques.
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 29 2018 : 02:11:29 AM Thanks, Bill. The official passport of the s/n 3504 is very interesting. Its date (20/08/1936) should lead towards a body s/n around 23000 (25000th Fed made in november 1936 -Princelle). Instead of that, we see a body in the 30/45000, by the engraving, the milling of the buttons, the vulcanite, the release button... And of course by the s/n of the lens (44236) which could denote a "real" s/n of 43504 for the body, if we look for a correlation. There is an incoherence. The passport comes with a camera which will exist only in the future... All that can be compared, for me, to the 1b s/n 42457, lens 47306, showed by DVD Technik and which has a passport too. http://www.dvdtechcameras.com/collect/fed/fed.htm This passport reads march (?) 1937 (unsure about the month), which is coherent with what we know about the production of cameras in these years. Jacques.
nightphoto	Posted - Jul 28 2018 : 4:11:16 PM Hi Guido, Yes, it is a good explanation and makes sense. Especially because a number were upgraded to "S". An upgrade makes more sense than repair with warranty and also makes sense why so many earlier cameras were given an upgrade to a the new standards, most importantly, interchangeable lenses and the new accessories. Maybe the instructional plate was an option during upgrade (to make it more like a Leica?) but not often chosen as it has a limited purpose to someone who already knows how to use the camera, and so was rarely chosen and maybe only offered for a short time.. Regards, Bill
Guido	Posted - Jul 28 2018 : 2:42:43 PM Hello Bill Thank you very much for the picture of the passport for #3504. It's an important find and it supports my opinion that this low s/n on newer cameras are upgrades to better models. In the case of the #3504 from 1934 (FED-1a) the upgrade was for the accessories shoe in 1936 (FED-1b). The passport also shows the number of the new lens for the FED-1b because earlier FED-1a maybe had there own adjusted lenses as Leica had in the early days. The number of the lens could be from 1936 or 1937 as I estimate without great knowledge of this. So I think this was a new passport made for the upgraded FED-1b. An other sign that this really could be an upgrade is the fact that some of the short numbers are upgraded to FED-S versions as I understand. What do you think about my conclutions? Best wishes - Guido
nightphoto	Posted - Jul 28 2018 : 12:17:33 PM Here is more information in the form of e-mails between me and a man named Igor who had an unusual numbers camera for sale. It was a long time ago, but I don't have the date (before 2008). Originally I told him I thought the camera was a fake, and then we had the following exchange. He did send me photos of a building, as he promised, where he said FED worked, but I no longer have them. Here is the exchange - sorry for the length, but maybe of some help. Dear Bill,Thank you very much for reply.I understand you. But please don`t say more that this camera ia a replica.I asked again about this camera in my friend He is collector. He have camera like this passport.Camera was made in Aug 1936, but not on FED territory. I`ll make pics for you. I`ll show you FED and some building where was made this camera. In passport I found: "Made in Kharkov Lesopark (WoodPark)" In passport usual FED address: "Kharkov, Sumskaya Str. (I don`t remember number, I think 134)" Ask you know like FED Berdsk was made also not of FED factory. But this is not a replica.I don`t know why was use incorect serial number. But this camera not a replica.On Sunday spatial for you I`ll make pics were was made this camera. And I`ll make pics of passport and camera which have my friend. I`ll make new description on this FED and will try sell it. Dear Igor, Thanks for the photos and information about your friend's camera. Also, please let me apologize and say I am sorry to have called your camera a fake.Now I can see that this is not the case. Now the mystery is ... Why does a 1936 FED have such an unusual seria lnumber? I don't see anything unusual about the camera except for the seria lnumber and the passport of your friends camera. The passport if different from ones I have seen before, as you say, because it has that address of "Kharkov 27 - Lesopark". I have a photo in a book (Princelle's new edition, page 90) of a passport from a FED in February 1936. It looks different and what I noticed is that the address is "Kharkov 54". So this is a different part of Kharkov than the one on your friends passport, probably. A FED that I have from 1936 (serial # 19469) also has a blue rangefinder,so that is probably not unusual. The serial number for the lens you have on your camera and the one of your friends camera does not seem to be much different from any FED of 1936 and my camera has a similar number. I know that FED was going through many changes during this time and in 1936 it was reported in Sovetsko Foto that aside from the 750 members of the FED commune, and additional 400 workers were hired from outside to work on camera production. 1935 & 1936 is exactly when the production of FEDs went from about 4000 per year up to about 15-20,000 a year. This period is also when the original director, Makarenko, was directed to leave FED and shortly after the NKVD took charge of the factory. So, I am guessing that maybe these two cameras of you and your friend were made at another factory at Lesnopark (maybe a temporary factory) where the newly hired workers were located. (And maybe they were not instructed about the correct serial numbers to use?). In any case, it is just a guess on my part and I don't really know what the story is, but the cameras do look authentic. I have just returned and have seen your newauction. It is an interesting camera but I still am not sure why it has the low number. It is a FED-1b from 1936 for sure... only the number is unusual! Maybe it was made with that number to go with a set of accessories, also with that number. Just at this time, many accessories such as a lightmeter, wide & amp; telephoto lens, and right angle viewers were being madefor the first time for FED. I and my friends don`t know why was use this seria lnumbers. Friend in Kiev also collector have FED 1 with serial 3***. I don`t know more ppl how have or had this unusual FED. Yes, I know usual FED`s was made in other factory (on FED). But this camera was made in other place. If you want I can make photo of FED and "Komunnar" (In 1936 "Komunnar" asked "TrudovayaKomunna") I know that in Lesopark was killed a lot soldier and traitors after war and before. In forestpark there was a military staff. And between FED and DrudKomunna there was a small railway communication. This is all informaton in this time which I let you know. (Note: these e-mails may not be in order. I have lost the original e-mails and only have this text copy .. hope it helps in some way!) Regards, Bill
nightphoto	Posted - Jul 28 2018 : 11:44:04 AM Here is FED No. 3631 and No. 417 http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/2872018_FED3631-417.jpg Here is FED No. 3631 http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/2872018_FED3631.jpg Here is FED No. 3909 http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/2872018_FED3909.jpg Here is 4586 http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/2872018_FED4586.jpg Here is FED No. 4875 http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/2872018_FED4875-1.jpg http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/2872018_Fed4875-2.jpg Regards, Bill
nightphoto	Posted - Jul 28 2018 : 11:38:29 AM The rest of the photos are all I have in my files. Some may be helpful. Here is FED No. 417 http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/2872018_FED417.jpg Here is FED No.1653 (4 photos) http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/2872018_FED1653-1.jpeg http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/2872018_FED1653-2.jpeg http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/2872018_FED1653-3.jpeg http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/2872018_FED1653-4.jpeg Regards, Bill
nightphoto	Posted - Jul 28 2018 : 11:10:09 AM Actually it is FED 3504. Regards, Bill
nightphoto	Posted - Jul 28 2018 : 11:07:30 AM Hi Jacques, I will post what I have. Here is the most interesting thing. FED No. 3505 and it's passport from 1936. I can't remember where I got this. I did not own the camera and passport. Maybe this has been seen by members before. http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/2872018_passport2.jpg http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/2872018_Kharkov3.jpg http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/2872018_FED3504-1.jpg http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/2872018_FED3504-2.jpg Regards, Bill
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 28 2018 : 05:34:48 AM The same plate on a 1937 Leica III: http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/2872018_DSC00479.JPG Perhaps it would be interesting you post your photos, Bill, so that we look for a relation between numbers, as I did? Amiti�s. Jacques;
nightphoto	Posted - Jul 27 2018 : 11:36:56 PM Also, I still have some photos of some of these cameras: 280 417 1653 1705 3504 ( and photos of the passport ) 3631 3909 4586 4875 5664 And, I have an e-mail correspondence with a collector in Kharkov who had some information about a different location in Kharkov where FED had a building. He told me of a passport that had a different location on it. Probably too much stuff to put on the forum, but I can send it by e-mail. Regards, Bill
nightphoto	Posted - Jul 27 2018 : 11:17:18 PM Hi Vlad, It is a mystery all right. When I look at the list we have, I can see some patterns, but no doubt there are and were many more of these unusual numbered cameras. If the list was larger and the actual details of the cameras noted, then maybe we could get a better idea, of any reasons for it. It could be a reason or reasons we have not thought of, something weird such as ... when a camera was found and an owner could not be found (lost, recovered stolen property, turned in by an agency, etc.) a new one was engraved with the old number. Or, when production was reviewed and some numbers, or the records of numbers, were missing, a new production camera was given the number. It would be interesting to see if any of the unusual number examples exist as well as the original number .. so two cameras with the same number, one older and one newer! Regards, Bill
Vlad	Posted - Jul 27 2018 : 3:01:48 PM Hi Bill, I do have to admit that your theory of special order with its own numbering is plausible but why start in 25xxx that's a mystery..
nightphoto	Posted - Jul 27 2018 : 2:44:38 PM I agree with Vlad that this camera of Jacques is an interesting discovery because of the instructional plate. The instructional plate looks authentic to me, and the way it is attached indicates that it was added to a factory base-plate. Very possibly a special-order for a small number of cameras, since we have not seen it before. It is hard for me to believe that this camera was a replacement for a damaged camera and that the instructional plate was added for no reason! This is why I am thinking that during this Soviet pre-WWII period, when an official agency or branch / department of the military requisitioned cameras from FED, the order was numbered differently than those cameras that were meant for civilian use. So, maybe an official agency ordered a small number of cameras with the instructional plate, for their specific needs, and they were numbered in this different manner. Regards, Bill
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 26 2018 : 08:16:55 AM I have no problem to accept the idea to reingrave an old s/n on a new cover. Leica had done the same when improving cameras. But I always lean upon the same obstacle. The reingraving should be made on a camera taken on the assembly line. For example, if the line works on the s/n 28xxx, and the original camera has the s/n 2500, we will find "brothers" (= same features) for the new s/n 2500 in the 28xxx. But there won't be any relation in the s/n.: nothing in the 125xx, 225xx, 325xx, etc. Here we have a double relation in almost all my examples: features and numbers. Except for the 25726. Probably it's too much to be normal. But I don't know if my doubts are quite understandable! It would be interesting that other owners can post pictures of their cameras... Perhaps there are several explanations? Amiti�s. Jacques.
Vlad	Posted - Jul 25 2018 : 3:44:35 PM Hello again everyone, and Bill great to see you here! Sorry for my prolonged absense, I've been travelling.. Regarding the original camera posted: all great points (especially Alfa's depiction of Soviet workplace is spot-on), a few thoughts from my end though. I am very puzzled by the warning plaque on the bottom plate, although I doubt a military connection, but may be techincal use by an organization.. it's probably the most interesting discovery I've seen in recent times with these pre-war FEDs.. I do have to argue a bit about the fact that they wouldn't engrave the numbers to match the passport. From the materials I've been reading in Soviet Photo and other pre-war articles, it seems like the FEDs before the war were almost an item of extreme luxury, a privilege to have in your possession, as these cameras very hard to find and it high deficit, and passports for those would prove your ownership as well and be on record at FED for warranty. Having multiple of these would possibly raise questions of impropriety in USSR (even consider you bourgeois). It's like having a deed to a house or a title to a car. So I can totally see them reengraving the number of the camera if it's beyond repair to match your passport... Best regards, Vlad
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 23 2018 : 05:53:02 AM Many thanks, Bill! Really nice of you... I am puzzled too by my last camera and its special features. Really, the plaque and the iron film counter are astonishing. I had forgotten a last explanation we had already evoked in a previous post. Guido just reminds me: it's the improvement by the factory. Leica had done the same: I own for example a Leica III (slow speeds) with a Leica II serial number. And a Leica II 1932 with 1936 features. In both cases, Leitz had changed the totality of the camera without changing the serial number. It's another hypothesis. Perhaps it is the best: it explains why we find twins. Amiti�s. Jacques.
nightphoto	Posted - Jul 19 2018 : 10:57:16 AM Hello Jacques, Vlad and Everyone, I hope you are all well! I will give some thoughts I have had over the years about the unusual numbers. I can't see why the FED factory would go to the trouble to engrave an early number on a newer camera so that the original passport would remain valid for the owner. In the case that a camera was replaced for some reason, the owner would have likely just be given a new one, in the box, with its passport and manual. Did FEDs actually have a lifetime warranty where they could be returned to the factory if they were very badly damaged, and were then replaced? What does the warranty state? Has anyone ever seen an actual written warranty? Probably most repairs were done by the owner, someone he knew who could do it, or at some type of photo supply or repair shop. On the other hand, when looking at the Wiki list for these cameras, there seems to be (in this small sample) a larger proportion of FED S models than are found in the general population of FEDs that have been collected. To me this makes sense because I have always suspected that the FEDs with unusual numbers were engraved that way because they were official cameras, used by government or official agencies, or by the military. And possibly the FED-S cameras were also made for special use. I think that Jacques' newest camera, No.25726, with the instructional plate or plaque on the body cover, may be a good proof of official use. The plaque looks like the type found on many Soviet aerial and military cameras, both still and cine. No reason for a plaque like that on civilian models as they would have an instruction book or manual with the individual camera, but often official equipment is used by members of the government or military who do not have much experience using it, and the manual is not easily available when on the job or when the equipment is requisitioned from storage. Possibly the unusual numbers represent a way of numbering the cameras that were taken from the factory for official or military use. Anomalies in the group of unusual numbers cameras, as far as exact model features, specific attributes, and where their numbers place them in relation to the features of higher or lower numbers, may very well have to do with replacement of parts, repairs during official use, as well as alterations made once the cameras left official or military use. That would seem to be usual and similar to the civilian cameras we see. Maybe I'm wrong about it, but Jacques camera with the military - governmental style plate on the bottom is a big clue, in my opinion (and not seen before to my knowledge). The 'magnetic' or iron metal frame counter could have something to do with the camera being used in some larger device where the winding knob was moved remotely and a magnet helped to keep the winding knob up tight to the larger mechanism? The 'missing number or cypher' by accident theory does not make much sense to me and I don't think these cameras belong to a specific series, they just have a different numbering system for official use. Passports may not have been needed if they were used by government facilities (or may have been lost in government files over the years). I also remember that at one time, years ago, there was a theory that these cameras were assembled, or at least numbered in a separate FED facility at Lesopark. I was in contact with a Russian collector who had heard that was the case and even sent me photos of what the FED building there looked like when he took photos of it. But, unfortunately, I can't find my records or e-mails about it any more. Best to you all, Bill Regards, Bill
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 17 2018 : 03:21:16 AM So, to be clear, our main hypothesis -s/n of a non-working camera engraved on the replacing one- is probably non valid. To say that in other words: there should be no relation between the features and the number. The fact that there is obviously a relation should lead us towards other hypothesis: missing cipher, or special series. I am very suprised by that conclusion... I will examine more closely the s/n to see if there are interesting differences in the engraving (position of ciphers, etc.). But I can be wrong or I can have missed something... So, what do you think? Amiti�s. Jacques. PS: all the pictures marked "DSC" were made with my prewar macro Fed lens on A7.
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 16 2018 : 10:31:28 AM A conclusion? It seems there is no real doubt for most of the cameras. Every time or almost, we can find without many researches the missing cipher, by comparison with other cameras, with a good certitude. These cameras would have been picked up from the assembly line to take the place of a non working 1a, the s/n being the one of the 1a. But things are perhaps too simple. Suppose that I am responsible of the assembly line. I am told that I must prepare a camera to replace the 1a s/n 1126. The line is producing cameras in the s/n 25xxx/26xxx, well recognizable (brown pattern). I will engrave 1126 on one of them. But there is no 11126, or 21126, 31126, 41126... with these features. In that case, there is no relation between the features and the number. And the first camera (S type 1c s/n 25726)is even more troublesome, with its magnetic questions and its plaque inside the bottom plate. What do you think? Amiti�s. Jacques.
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 16 2018 : 09:44:16 AM Two more photos to compare it to my s/n 25617: http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/1672018_DSC00475.JPG http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/1672018_DSC00477.JPG Two interesting differences are well visible on the photos: the diameter of the speed dial is 13,5mm on the s/n 25616, while the (2)4580 has still the big 15mm one... And the 25617 already has the fine milling on its two buttons. Changings are gradual!
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 16 2018 : 09:26:48 AM We had already spoken of the (my) last camera with odd s/n here: http://ussrphoto.com/Forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2963 Two pictures, concerning this s/n 4580: http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/1672018_DSC00466.JPG http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/1672018_DSC00467.JPG An interesting camera, easy to spot with the particular patterned vulcanite, the main buttons with two sorts of milling, the shape of the left side of the cover and the broad engraving. I have in my records the s/n 25617, 25840, 25922 and the 26327 which exactly look like the 4580. So, this camera should probably be the 24580.
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 16 2018 : 09:02:41 AM A comparison between the (3)3631 (above on the pics) and the 34270: http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/1672018_DSC00462.JPG http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/1672018_DSC00464.JPG No real difference, except, perhaps the diameter of the release button... The rest is the same. From these numbers, the 1b series will remain steady, without modification, up to the 5000 last numbers towards the 1c. Jacques.
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 16 2018 : 08:54:22 AM The speed dial is a small one; the buttons have a semi-coarse milling (compared to the postwar Feds, for example). The internal screw is of course there. http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/1672018_DSC00453.JPG http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/1672018_DSC00460.JPG If we add the s/n of the lens (34350), this Fed should very probably be the s/n 33631. This camera was given to me by Bill Parkinson. Thanks, Bill.
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 16 2018 : 08:33:59 AM I will do what I can, Yuhani! So, the s/n 3631 shows the same vulcanite we have already seen with the 2092 and which is common from the middle of the 1b series to the beginning of 1c: a grey/green one, depending on the use. The chrome is satin finished and takes dust and dirtiness. http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/1672018_DSC00452.JPG http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/1672018_DSC00454.JPG
cedricfan	Posted - Jul 15 2018 : 10:33:59 AM You are not making me tired, I want more :) Best regards, Juhani
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 15 2018 : 09:12:34 AM Two last pictures to finish up with this Fed s/n 2092. They show a comparison between the Fed S s/n 59549 and the 2092, possibly 62549. I have no other camera closer, but there is no modification in the original series between these two ones. http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/1572018_DSC00450.JPG http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/1572018_DSC00451.JPG No difference in the features, except the varnishing of the vulcanite and the inscriptions in black, of course made by the seller. They are twins too. Very probably this s/n 2092 is in fact a s/n 62092. I don't want to tire anybody, but the s/n 3631 will soon arrive! All comments are welcome, once more... Jacques.
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 15 2018 : 08:20:56 AM Many thanks for these enlightments, xya! I have found something about the delay between date of passport and sale. In my records, I have the 1b s/n 13748, lens 14280, controlled the 8 and 9 X 1935 and put to sale only the 26/4/1936. We don't know when it was really sold... So, a total period of 2 1/2 or 3 years between original passport and "new" camera does not seem impossible...
xya	Posted - Jul 14 2018 : 2:57:07 PM quote: Originally posted by Alfa2 I did not live in a FSU country too. But some rules in all communistic countries were the same. Regarding FED 1126 there are almost no doubts this is "error" when engraving. The question is: why ? Really hard to guess after 80 years. This could have been made by mistake or intentionally. Maybe a worker had papers for FED 1126. So he has taken a camera from current production and gave number 1126 to it. He could say this is my camera I have papers for that. In communistic countries papers were very important. Based on a paper you could have a car faster then others, you could buy a flat without waiting 20 years, you could buy even better radio which were not available in a shop. Mentality of people were complitelly different. Now if you work in e.d. Renault company you understand you cannot put a car part out ot the factory because it does not belong to you. Communistic propaganda was telling that everything was common. So everybody was an owner of all factories and everything what was inside. So from formal piont of view I was owner of busses on a street, trains all industry and so on. Propaganda was telling: in capitalistic countries you don't owe all these goods. Here you have this all. People in Poland realises we are governed by thiefs and they will officialy take for themselves almost all which was produced. So if you took a part from a factory it was not treated as thief. alfa2, the picture that you are drawing of communist countries in many of our threads, doesn't match with my impressions. a part of my family lived in eastern germany and a part in former czechosloakia. we visited them quite often from the late 50s onwards and as it was family, we had quite some insight. we met in bulgaria each summer and I have been to russia several times with them in the 60s and 70s. my mother was a teacher in occupied poland in the 40s, she kept in touch with her pupils and we visited poland regularly as well. there were well expensive products on display in stores, like cameras, that sat on the shelf because they were too expensive for ordinary people. it was not the case with cars, there you are right. there was well a notion of theft. they were proud of owning the land and the industry in common, but your car was your car, your camera was your camera and common goods were common. there were strict controls at the factories and taking parts was regarded as theft and heavily fined. and don't forget: there were always spies around you that would report wrongdoing. I doubt your theory of whole cameras being brought out of the production line in numbers. if you owned foreign currency, a lot of things were possible, but then again, it had its rules. you would get official papers, but these would be within the ordinary production and the ordinary numbering. if you knew high officials, as I did, you would be able to get products out of the official production, but these had their own numbering, which was recognizable in itself. it would not be similar to old numbers, there were letters added to the numbers or no number at all. www.a7camera.com www.120folder.com www.instantphoto.eu
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 14 2018 : 07:57:38 AM Of course, no more inside screw, which is specific to the 1a-s and 1b-s. http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/1472018_IMG_0150.JPG That time, the reason of the s/n is perhaps more difficult to explain. First, it seems that this sort of vulcanite does not appear after s/61000 (but we are not so far with 62092 if we add the "6" which could miss). And there is more time between january 1935 (making of the s/n 2092) and early 1938 (for the s/n 62092). Perhaps 3 years are a bit too long... Just to say: I bought the camera with a 2/50mm Fed lens s/n 33428, so which belongs to the end of the batch. It should have been mounted on a Fed 1e.
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 14 2018 : 07:39:14 AM Third camera: the Fed S s/n 2092, which is a 1c. http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/1472018_IMG_0145.JPG http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/1472018_IMG_0147.JPG No real problem to identify the camera. The vulcanite is a last 1b/early 1c one, the central screw above the lens is half hidden, and the pin to lock the bottom plate is 3mm. So, a real serial number between 54xxx (beginning of 1c-s) and 61xxx.
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 14 2018 : 07:23:31 AM If we accept to consider that these two cameras are twins, the most simple explanation is probably the best. The 1a s/n 1126 was made in mid 1934. It was taken in charge by the warranty later, and its s/n engraved on a 1b, in mid 1936 (approximate date of making for the s/n 21126. So, the actual s/n 21126 is wanted!
Alfa2	Posted - Jul 14 2018 : 06:07:56 AM I did not live in a FSU country too. But some rules in all communistic countries were the same. Regarding FED 1126 there are almost no doubts this is "error" when engraving. The question is: why ? Really hard to guess after 80 years. This could have been made by mistake or intentionally. Maybe a worker had papers for FED 1126. So he has taken a camera from current production and gave number 1126 to it. He could say this is my camera I have papers for that. In communistic countries papers were very important. Based on a paper you could have a car faster then others, you could buy a flat without waiting 20 years, you could buy even better radio which were not available in a shop. Mentality of people were complitelly different. Now if you work in e.d. Renault company you understand you cannot put a car part out ot the factory because it does not belong to you. Communistic propaganda was telling that everything was common. So everybody was an owner of all factories and everything what was inside. So from formal piont of view I was owner of busses on a street, trains all industry and so on. Propaganda was telling: in capitalistic countries you don't owe all these goods. Here you have this all. People in Poland realises we are governed by thiefs and they will officialy take for themselves almost all which was produced. So if you took a part from a factory it was not treated as thief.
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 14 2018 : 04:57:01 AM Sure I did not live in a FSU country, so I just can imagine. For the moment, we have 30 of these Feds in our listing. If you are right, that would certainly mean that hundreds of Feds were made in fraud during this prewar period, as they are rather difficult to spot... Before leaving this s/n 1126, two pictures more, with the s/n 21225, a regular one which could be its twin. Absolutely no difference. http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/1472018_IMG_0140.JPG http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/1472018_IMG_0144.JPG
Alfa2	Posted - Jul 13 2018 : 3:30:31 PM quote: Originally posted by Jacques M. About your guess, I have some doubts. Jacques, let me answer your doubts. quote: Originally posted by Jacques M. A skilled worker would have had access to all the necessary parts, including the special ones for Fed S A skilled worker would have had access to all parts, which were available in the factory. In communism factories produced goods from this what they had currently on stock. Some materials were rationed (limited) even in factories. Especially for civilian production. There were other rules related to military production because it was prio 1. So they had all necessary materials. quote: Originally posted by Jacques M. and would have engraved a special s/n with the right tools? Why a special number? Here I have an explanation too. He in had to go out of the factory with this camera in one piece or part by part. Factories had guards. They controlled everybody who go out of the factory area. So he wanted to go out with the plate with s/n which pretended part for old FED not for one from current production. Of course we can only guess what happened with the FED in the factory. But I remember communistic reality in factories. When I was a student a was working in car factory as a part of my study. I remember the guard in front of factory gate and ways people were trying to put parts out of the factory. They were doing it because they were not able to buy car parts in a shop. I can write much more about this if you want.
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 13 2018 : 10:48:37 AM Base plate removed: http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/1372018_IMG_0135.JPG The center screw is present. There is "25078" written with a pencil on the cage (perhaps the s/n of the original 3,5/50 Fed lens? I bought the camera with the 4,5/28). All in all, a classical 1b which should have a s/n between 15xxx/21xxx, if we add the shape of the left side of the cover (much more curved after) and other details. This camera seems an excellent candidate for the 1st cipher missing: "21126" would be normal for this body. Any comments are welcome! Thanks! Jacques. (3 other of these Feds to come)
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 13 2018 : 10:36:08 AM Second camera: the s/n 1126. A normal 1b, except the number. http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/1372018_IMG_0128.JPG http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/1372018_IMG_0130.JPG The vulcanite takes place after the brown patterned one; narrow inscription, fine milling for the buttons, no hole on the back.
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 13 2018 : 09:25:50 AM On the other hand, your guess would explain these odd parts we find in this Fed: the plaque inside the back cover (a prototype?); the magnetic frame counter (trial of the factory), etc.
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 13 2018 : 08:51:15 AM Thanks, Alfa. The camera was bought in the years 1940s, but the actual seller doesn't know where. Certainly not in France, anyway. About import, I just remember having seen used Feds for sale in Paris in 1954 (I was just 10). Probably NKVDs, as I could not decipher all these words in cyrillics... About your guess, I have some doubts. A skilled worker would have had access to all the necessary parts, including the special ones for Fed S, and would have engraved a special s/n with the right tools? Why a special number? But, as you say, we are here to suppose. Amiti�s. Jacques.
Alfa2	Posted - Jul 13 2018 : 05:51:13 AM My idea is completely other but we van only guess of course. I think the camera was done "after knowing" i.e. by special request. This was very popular way in communistic countries. I will give you an example: I want to buy a camera but I cannot buy it officially in a shop because it was not there. But my brother knows a guy who works in a factory. So I ask my brother to ask his friend about a camera. The factory worker tells my brother he will prepare special camera for my brother. This was a very popular way of getting some thing that you could not buy in a shop. In capitalistic countries it is treated as theft. In communistic countries it was absolutely acceptable because this arise from living in completely other reality. So the camera was done by a worker from parts they had those time period in the factory. There was no 2/50 so 3.5/50 lens was used.
Alfa2	Posted - Jul 13 2018 : 04:27:03 AM I really doubt this is proper scenario. The question is: Where the camera was bought ? If the camera was bought in France so it would be possible the camera stayed on a shelf in a shop for long time. But I really doubt FEDs NKVD were sold officialy in France before WWII. Before WWII Poland was capitalistic country and there was no import of FEDs. You could buy only Leica. I assume it was not official import of FEDs to France too. If the camera was bought in USSR it would not stay long time on a shelf in a shop. In capitalistic countries there are overproduction. There are a lot of goods on shelfs in shops and these things can stay there for a long time. In communistic countries we had underproduction. Very often shelfs in shops were empty. Consumers had to wait until goods are produced. Good example is a car. My father wanted to buy a car Fiat 125p. So he had to pay 100% of amount 5 years earlier and than wait this 5 years until a car was produced. So I really doubt this FED was waiting in a shop to be bought in USSR. It was not matter the cheepest car costed 35 medium monthly salaries. There was always queue and you had to wait a few years for the car.
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 13 2018 : 01:11:05 AM quote: Originally posted by xya as these cameras were expensive, they may have been unsold for a year or two. if this one was sold a year or two later than its date of production, it would have been under warranty by the time of the newer body. so it could well be a warranty repair engraving. Certainly you can be right: I thought to something like that. Vlad, Alfa, would it be coherent?
xya	Posted - Jul 12 2018 : 4:35:08 PM as these cameras were expensive, they may have been unsold for a year or two. if this one was sold a year or two later than its date of production, it would have been under warranty by the time of the newer body. so it could well be a warranty repair engraving. www.a7camera.com www.120folder.com www.instantphoto.eu
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 12 2018 : 11:26:10 AM Ha, ha! A word more: I just see the s/n of the Industar 10: 107717. The camera was bought by a French in the 1940s and stayed in the same family till now. The actual seller does not remember having seen a 2/50 Fed lens. If this Industar is original, which is not impossible, that would confirm the s/n between 100xxx/110xxx for the body. But the question remains: warranty engraving or special order?
Vlad	Posted - Jul 12 2018 : 09:54:18 AM Haha, you never know! Maybe if you insist they can replace a camera with an IL-72 fuel pump or whatever they manufacture right now
Alfa2	Posted - Jul 12 2018 : 09:35:23 AM quote: Originally posted by Vlad I am not sure how long warranty was on a FED, it's possible it may have been 3 years. Does anyone know? Do you expect it is still valid ?
Vlad	Posted - Jul 12 2018 : 08:03:54 AM I am not sure how long warranty was on a FED, it's possible it may have been 3 years. Does anyone know?
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 12 2018 : 07:54:13 AM Between the s/n 25726 (original camera) and a s/n between 95/110000 (replacement camera), there are 2 years and a half. It's probably too long for a warranty period, I think? Amiti�s. Jacques.
Vlad	Posted - Jul 12 2018 : 07:40:23 AM Jacques, it still can be a warranty replacement, the original body was beyond repair and they just engraved old serial number from passport and gave it to the customer
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 12 2018 : 07:02:11 AM http://ussrphoto.com/Wiki/default.asp?WikiCatID=98&ParentID=1&ContentID=1035&Item=FED+1b+%2D+Unusual+Serial+Numbers Here is the listing of our wiki: 220 - AVITO 2012 /att. 10/I/1937/ lens #35071 280 - DVD Tech 377 - A.Nikitin 417 - Bill Parkinson 420 - S.Pseunok 568 - internet 852 - A.Nikitin 1032 - Aidas Pikiotas 1126 - Jacques M. (1b between c. 11500-21000) 1151 - Molotok 1653 - seen on Molotok 1705 - DVD Tech 2013 - PYC (Fed-S 1c) 2532 - photohistory 2969 - Halsey, Nikitin (Lens #34959) /zinc/ 3504 - Collector in Kharkov (passport 20/VIII/1936 see photo / Lens #44236) 3631 - Bill Parkinson, Jacques M. 3909 - DVD Tech (FED-S 1c) 4573 - ebay. Narrow engraving. 4580 - Jacques M. (1b brown vulcanite, large engraving) 4586 - DVD Tech (FED-S & B ? 1d) 4875 - James McGee 5298 - Alexander K. (Lens #5977) 5378 - A.Nikitin ( Fed S) 5664 - DVD Tech 5957 - web (lens 1\2 #6823) 25726 - Jacques M. (Fed S 1d) 25949 - DVD Tech (Fed-S 1c) 32580 - Mike Haley (napchop) 27839 - Avto Metreveli Two groups in this list, by the s/n: cameras which belong to the 1a series (202 to 5957) and four with a 1b serial number. The idea that many 1a-s were not correctly working, so repaired or changed under warrantee, is clear. But the wiki does not give enough information about the conversion of these cameras. If the owners could share... I will do my best with my other three cameras. Jacques.
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 12 2018 : 06:35:56 AM Thanks, Vlad. The factory warrantee repair can be an explanation for some of these cameras we already know. But not for this specific one, I think. This s/n 25726 belongs to the early 1d: CCCP engraving, non magnetic shutter cage (cages become magnetic from c. 110/115xxx), vulcanite, etc. So, a theorical serial number between 95xxx/115xxx. These cameras were made in the mid of 1939; the original 25726 1b in the end of 1936 (Princelle). It's too long for a simple warrantee. I even think that the misengraving (omission of the first cipher, a "1") is probably not the explanation. 125726 would be too late for a 1d with a brass shutter cage. And more: the magnetic counter frame and the special warning plaque are completely unusual. So, a special series? Or rather bodies, taken from the running production, to be re-numbered before delivery? But to whom? Only a supposition... Amiti�s. Jacques.
Vlad	Posted - Jul 11 2018 : 7:47:58 PM Hi Jacques, The little plaque inside the bottom cover is quite surprising, I've never seen one as well! How interesting! I am still of the opinion that the early serial numbers of later cameras are a result of a factory warranty repair where number was moved to another plate so the passport stays the same. Very nice and curious addition to your collection! Congratulations! Best regards, Vlad
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 11 2018 : 2:25:06 PM Last picture concerning this camera: the back part of the shutter box, foot removed. http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/1172018_IMG_0117.JPG Of course, interesting. Impossible to say where the grey colour comes from. The camera was delivered with a Fed 3,5/50mm lens, not original for a Fed S. In our previous threads concerning these cameras, we had listed the different possibilities: - s/n kept when warranty (like Leicas), - special s/n reserved for administration (police, army, etc), - error when engraving: 1st cipher missing (or other), - any possible fakes. What do you think about this one? Amiti�s. Jacques.
Jacques M.	Posted - Jul 11 2018 : 11:39:53 AM But this camera is surprising. The frame counter is magnetic. It's probably the first time I see that on a Fed. And the position of the pins is correct, so, this disc doesn't belong to other well known cameras, such as Leicas or Zorkis. http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/1172018_IMG_0113.JPG Something else. The bottom cover contains a special warning plaque like some Leicas, but in Russian and with the "CCCP" mark. A sort of 1d identity card... I had never seen that before. http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/1172018_IMG_0119.JPG

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