Engravings on FED1: HB / BH

Hello!

Has any of you ever encountered handmade engravings on prewar FEDs?

I have a FED1e which has engravings (rather scratches) on top and bottom plate that look like <b>HB</b>.

Didn't pay much attention to them (they just bothered me), but then I remembered I also have a FED 50mm macro lenswith an engraving saying <b>B.H.</b> on its side. Much finer made than the one on the camera.
Do you think this is just a coincidence (lens and camera come from completely different sources) or are these letters are a general abbreviation for something?

What could <b>HB</b> or <b>BH</b> mean?

I have seen simillar very coarse engravings on wartime Leicas that are supposed to have been used in the military, e.g. by War correspondents.
See here for example:
http://www.westlicht-auction.com/index.php?f=popup&id=2408845&_ssl=off#2408844

Regards,
Christian

Hello Christian,
I have never seen such engraving on FEDs and it seems for me to be an accession number or something similar.
On my two different FED 50mm macro lenses there are also no handmade engravings.
So I think this engraving comes not from FED-factory directly.

Regards, Alexander

Hello!
I do not remember, but I think I have one FED lens with HB.
I have to find it.
But I am not sure.


Martti

Hi Christian,

I have nothing like that.
Just what looks like a cyrillic "z" on a macro lens...
I think too that the inscription was not made at the factory.

Amitiés. Jacques.

Thank you!

It would be interesting to see more engravings of this sort.

Clearly they were not made by the factory but by the owner, the question is if it's simply personal initials or if it has a more general meaning (government, military).

Here are pictures of what I have:

<b>FED1e No. 174186</b>

http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/3400/fede1x.jpg

http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/8580/fede2t.jpg

The one on the bottom plate is better, It seems to read <b>Hb</b> :

http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/6628/fedeb.jpg

<b>
FED 50mm Macro Lens No. 13923</b>

http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/2482/fed50m1.jpg

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/8125/fed50m2.jpg

This lens is from AlexanderK, as far as I recall you even mentioned the engraving when I bought it from you.

Regards,
Christian

Probably the initials of an owner. I have (or had?) a camera with the personal US number of the precedent owner. When the marks come from repairs, I think they are inside the body or the lens.
Anyway, an interesting Fed 1e with the speed dial of Fed-Zorki...

Amitiés. Jacques.

Yes, probably.

The cyrillic <b>Hb</b> on the camera translates to <i>Hb</i> whereas the <b>BH</b> on the lens translates to <i>VH</i>.

So the engrvings are most likely not related.
Still I'd be interested to see the engraving on Martti's lens.

Regards,
Christian

Sorry Christian,

The cyrillic Hb on the camera translates to Nb and the BH on the lens to VN. I am sure that these scratched letters relate to the owners and not to any part of the manufacturing or servicing of the items.

David.

Certainly David, my mistake. Of course the H translates to N.

Regards,
Christian