FED-1b
FED -1b (1935)...... 35 mm / coupled-rangefinder / Leica II copy ..... lens : FED - 50 mm f.3.5
Body serial no. : 7377 ......................... Lens serial no. : 98158
factory : FED Labour Commune / Kharkov, USSR .............. year : 1935
notes: This camera was made in May or June of 1935 and is earliest version of the FED-1b. Characteristic features are: viewfinder frame is "notched"; lack of accessory shoe; square-shaped rangefinder cam (top interior of lensmount); circular plug on the back (to help adjustment of the measurement of the focal distance to film plane); eyepiece rings painted black.
FED-1 cameras from 1934 and 1935 are very rare. It is the first model of FED-1 to have the "NKVD" engraving on the rangefinder housing as the F.E. Dzerjinskij Work Commune is now under the control of the "Ministry of the Interior".
Collection of Bill Parkinson