Baby Rolleiflex/"Grey Baby" Rolleiflex, 1957 - 1963
Scope and Contents
Twin lens reflex camera; 120 film; negative size 4 x 4 cm; Xenar f3.5 lens; MXV shutter with LVS scale and self-timer; double bayonet. Serial number 20340062, labeled "Joe Strain".
Dates
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1957 - 1963
Creator
- Rollei GmbH and Co. KG (2015) (Manufacturer, Organization)
Access
This material is open for research use by any registered reader.
Biographical / Historical
The Automatic Rolleiflex 4x4, popularly known as the "Gray Baby" Rolleiflex, was introduced in 1957, at an announced list price of USD $133.65.[1] It is a knob-advance twin-lens reflex yielding 12 exposures of 4x4cm on 127 film. It has a Schneider Xenar 60/3.5 taking lens and a Heidosmat 60/2.8 viewing lens.
This model helped kick-start a brief boom for 38mm × 38mm "super slides" (whose slide mounts were the same external dimensions as 35mm slides, but offering a larger image area), and inspired several Japanese lookalikes such as the Yashica 44.
By 1959 the gray baby's advertised list price had dropped to USD $99.50, perhaps a reflection of waning interest in the format. In 1963 the "gray" was abandoned in favor of "black".
Extent
1 item (1 camera) : glass, metal, plastic, leather ; 7.5 X 9.5 X 12.5 cm
Language of Materials
English
Repository Details
Part of the The University of Tulsa, McFarlin Library, Department of Special Collections & University Archives Repository
McFarlin Library
University of Tulsa
2933 E. 6th St
Tulsa 74104-3123 USA
(918) 631-2496
speccoll@utulsa.edu