Kamera-Werkstätten Guthe & Thorsch was a photographic equipment manufacturer based in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

Kamera-Werkstätten Guthe & Thorsch

By the beginning of the twentieth century the photographic industry prospered using new manufacturing methods, building smaller, lighter and more reliable equipment, and using better materials like aluminium and steel rather than wood, brass and leather. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the camera industry in Dresden surely had the most specialized workforce in that field, comprising several respected brands. It was at this time the Kamera-Werkstätten, K.W. was established in Dresden, Germany. Kamera-Werkstätten Guthe & Thorsch, K.W. for short, was established in 1919 in

, by Paul Guthe and Benno Thorsch to manufacture cameras and associated products. The first was the ''Patent Etui 6×9'' plate camera previously designed by Guthe. The 3×4 TLR ''Pilot Reflex 3×4'' medium format roll-film camera range began in 1931, which by 1935 evolved into the 6×6 120 film SLR ''Pilot 6'' that surely is among the earliest examples of compact SLR roll film cameras, which together with the Kochmann ''Reflex Korelle'' lead the way to the 1948 6×6 ''

Hasselblad Victor Hasselblad AB is a Swedish manufacturer of medium format cameras, photographic equipment and image scanners based in Gothenburg, Sweden. The company originally became known for its classic analog medium-format cameras that used a waist ...

'' SLR cameras. At the time, the 35mm miniature

SLR camera A single-lens reflex camera (SLR) is a camera that typically uses a mirror and prism system (hence "reflex" from the mirror's reflection) that permits the photographer to view through the lens and see exactly what will be captured. With twin l ...

was the latest development in Dresden, and in 1939, K.W. brought out the ''

Praktiflex '' Kamera-Werkstätten Guthe & Thorsch'' (K.W.) was established 1919 in Dresden by Paul Guthe and Benno Thorsch, starting out manufacturing the ''Patent Etui'' plate camera. Ten years later came the roll film TLR ''Pilot Reflex'' and in 1936, th ...

''. It was the first 35mm SLR to challenge the 1936 ''

Kine Exakta The Kine Exakta was the first 35mm single-lens reflex (SLR) still camera in regular production. It was presented by Ihagee Kamerawerk Steenbergen GmbH, Dresden at the Leipziger Frühjahrsmesse in March 1936. The Exakta name had already been use ...

'', manufactured by

IHAGEE Ihagee was a camera manufacturer based in Dresden, Germany. Its best-known product was the Exakta single-lens reflex camera. History Johan Steenbergen, a Dutchman, founded a camera company called ''Industrie- und Handelsgesellschaft'' in Dres ...

elsewhere in Dresden. However, the uncomplicated and seemingly insignificant ''Praktiflex'' has had considerable impact on the development of future 35mm SLR cameras. Even before this, dark skies over Europe had made Benno Thorsch, the surviving partner from 1919, determined to immigrate to the United States, and consequently placed an advertisement to that effect. Charles A. Noble, who ran a successful photo-finishing company in Detroit, Michigan, answered while visiting Dresden, and they agreed to exchange their interests in their respective enterprises. (ref. The Washington Post Nov.17,2007: Post Mortem)

Kamera-Werkstätten AG, Niedersedlitz

Benno Thorsch and his family settled in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, while Charles A. Noble brought his family to

in the spring 1938, where he moved the factory to the southernmost part of Dresden, and changed its name to Kamera-Werkstätten AG, Dresden-Niedersedlitz. The factory was allowed to manufacture cameras throughout the WW II, but in the summer of 1945 Charles A. Noble and his son, John were arrested on unsupported spy charges by the Soviet occupying forces, and the factory nationalised, (ref.:

John H. Noble John H. Noble (September 4, 1923 – November 10, 2007) was an American survivor of the Soviet Gulag system, who wrote two books which described his experiences in it after he was permitted to leave the Soviet Union and return to the United State ...

) becoming part of the VEB Pentacon organisation, which evidently absorbed every photographic enterprise in East Germany. Both were imprisoned in labour camps and kept until Charles Noble was released in 1952, and his son in 1955 by intervention of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Both returned to the US where the family now lived. (ref.:

) After the reunification of Germany in 1990, the Noble family was able to reclaim their home and factory in Dresden, and to continue the enterprise.

After World War II

In 1946 the camera works at Niedersedlitz became nationalised and was renamed accordingly the VEB Kamerawerkstätten, Dresden-Niedersedlitz. Production of the

camera resumed with a minimum of parts supply, but development of new and improved models soon resulted in the Praktiflex II.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kamera-Werkstatten Photography companies of Germany Photography in East Germany Manufacturing companies based in Dresden Manufacturing companies established in 1919 1919 establishments in Germany Companies of East Germany