The Ernemann Magazin was produced between 1913 and 1925. The stereoscope in this post was built between 1920 and 1925 and has serial number 1081251. It contains the new logo that was used after a collaboration between Ernemann and Friedrich Krupp AG in 1920. It replaced the famous logo with the Goddess of light.
It’s striking that this stereoscope is very compact for a viewer with an advanced multi-view mechanism. The viewer is (without the cabinet) hardly any larger than the Multiphote, a simple viewer without a mechanism.
The stereoscope offers all features that you can expect from an advanced multi-view device. The two achromatic lenses can be focussed and the distance between the lenses is adjustable. The frosted glass at the back is used to illuminate the glass slides. The top can also be opened and one of the two top lids contains a mirror, which suggests that this viewer can also be used for paper stereocards. Unsure how this should work as the weight of paper card stereoviews is too light for the operating mechanism.
The slide tray is placed in the front panel. The images are displayed one by one by turning a crank. The crank is bi-directional to browse forward and backward through the slides. An indicator knob can be used to navigate forward to a specific image. This knob probably contained a circle plate with the numbers of the images, but it’s missing from my device.
Like the Hemdé stereoscope, the slide trays are made of wood instead of the more common bakelite. Each tray can contain 20 glass slides. The storage cabinet has room for four trays and can be detached from the viewer part.
The copper nameplate on the front panel of the Ernemann Magazin contains a dealer plate of the Dutch seller:
R. van der Werf Fotohandel
Gr. Houtstr. 102 Haarlem
This concerns the Rinnert van der Werf. He was born on 14 November 1868 in Harlingen. He started his career as a pastry chef. In Haarlem he was active as a photographer until 1920. From 1920 he focused entirely on his photography business, which was located at the Grote Houtstraat in the center of Haarlem. Rinnert died on 27 March 1945.
References
- Göllner, Peter. Ernemann Cameras, 1995
- Rinnert van der Werf – via rkd.nl