Mystery Camera

Can anyone help me identify this camera? I purchased it about 10 years ago while living in Kiev. The only identifing marks are around the lens: "Detective Pokorny". I can find no reference to this camera anywhere.







jay bjerke

Hi Jay,

this looks a lot to me like an Ernemann Box, from H.Ernemann in Dresden, circa 1908-1917, if it has Russian writing (it would be great if you post a close up of the lens so we can see) it is probably a Czarist Russia retailer's trademark on it.

Cheers,
Vlad

A great and collectible find by the way if it is in fact camera retailed in pre-communist Russia.

Iosif Pokorniy probably, a very well known Russian retailer of German cameras.

Thanks, it does look alot like the Ernemann boxes.
Here is a close-up of the lens. Nothing in Cyrillic.





jay bjerke

Very interesting! I've never seen house of Iosif Pokorniy write in latin script.. I can't be sure if it's even of Russian origin. I'll let someone else chime in. But it does look like an Ernemann to me..