[rollei_list] Re: (OT) Rilex Press Cameras Linhof? Plaubel? Printex Etc Etc
- From: David Sadowski <dsadowski@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2012 01:01:51 -0500
Of course, there was also the so-called "Baby" Deardorff 4x5 camera,
which was actually a 5x7 camera that could take 4x5 film.
In the 1980s, when I was in the photo industry in Chicago, we sold a
few things to the Deardorff company, which was still in business just
west of the Loop, as it had been for many decades. Jack Deardorff was
running things then. Unfortunately, we had to cancel their credit
when they didn't pay their bills, so it was cash on the barrelhead.
Jack told me they were having trouble getting the South American wood
they needed, due to an ongoing civil war in some country down there.
Later on, when Kranzten Studios went out of business, that put so many
used Deardorffs on the market that it effectively killed the company.
There was an auction for their assets, and Jack Deardorff tried to bid
on stuff incognito wearing a fake moustache, but was discovered.
Some years later, I ran into a relative of his who said he was
estranged from the rest of the family. I guess Jack did try to get a
new Deardorff venture off the ground before his death in 2007.
Ken Hough, who had worked for Deardorff in later years, was always the
expert on the firm, repairing them and making new parts. I tried
looking up his Deardorff web site, but it seems like it's been taken
down, and someone else based in Tennessee is selling new Deardorff
cameras now.
On some forums from the early 2000s, some people were complaining they
had sent the Deardorffs to Ken and after a few years and spending lots
of money, he hadn't completed the work or sent back their cameras.
So, does anybody know what might have happened to Ken Hough? Is he
still in business?
---
Rollei List
- Post to rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Subscribe at rollei_list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'subscribe'
in the subject field OR by logging into www.freelists.org
- Unsubscribe at rollei_list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with
'unsubscribe' in the subject field OR by logging into www.freelists.org
- Online, searchable archives are available at
//www.freelists.org/archives/rollei_list
Other related posts:
