Auzoux & Bauz 220mm F3

Auzoux & Bauz Convertible Petzval 220mm F3 Lens

Auzoux’s workshop was very well known for its build and fantastic optical quality. In the 1860s, he cooperated with the most distinguished optical workshops, including Francais and Bauz.

This lens is an exceptional example of his work with Bauz from the late 1860s (probably 1867-68). The most remarkable part is that it comes as a time capsule since it’s a complete photographer set-up.

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The lens itself, the leather cap, a leather satchel with a full set of Waterhouse stops, and a box for transportation. Im not sure if the box is authentic, but it perfectly fits the lens size, so it could in fact be the original box.

The fast F3 aperture is a very nice benefit when making my wet and dry plate collodion negatives.

In addition to the set’s completeness, the lens is nickel-plated, making it not only visually striking but increasingly rare.

In the 1860s, nickel plating was reserved for the most valuable lenses because it was an expensive process. Nickel plating is striking in person and also serves as a great protector of the brass under the plating.

My lens and original accessories probably look very close to what they looked like when they were brand new 160+ years ago.

The lens is engraved with:

‘No 7972
AUZOUX & BAUZ
OPTens FABnts QUAI CONTI 3
Paris’

In fact, this lens is a ‘convertible lens’, meaning that it also could easily be transformed from a portrait to a landscape lens at double the focal length and aperture.

Unscrew the lens out of the flange and then unscrew the rear cell, and screw the lens back into the flange with the front cell first. What a clever design this is, even by today’s standards. The lens hood has fitting threads used when mounting the lens back into the flange.

The lens has a focal length of 220mm at a speed of F3. It will cover 5×7 easily and even full plate formats with fine Petzval characteristics on the ground glass.

On 8×10 format there is some vignetting, but I tend to love this and use it on 8×10 as well.

The condition of the 160+ year-old lens is exceptional. The nickel plating shows no obvious damage and the glass is in great condition. The rack & pinion mechanism is complete and works nicely. The flange seems to have been painted black (probably to match the camera’s lens board by a previous owner.

We had to custom-mount this lens to work on my Chamonix 8×10 camera, but after some difficult moments, we devised a plan, and it worked great.

You can click on any of the photos for an enlarged view.