Agfa Ansco

Agfa Ansco branding precedes WWII image by Voxphoto (Image rights)

For a period of approximately 15 years, cameras originating with Ansco in the USA and some from Agfa in Germany were branded as Agfa Ansco. In this wiki, Camera models carrying this joint name may also appear under either the Agfa and Ansco company pages.

Merger

In 1928, the US division of Agfa entered a merger with the Ansco company of Binghamton, New York. Products manufactured in either country were then branded and sold under the dual name Agfa Ansco.

In 1939 the company itself changed names to General Analine and Film (GAF); but cameras continued to carry the Agfa Ansco brand.

By 1943, the Germanic associations of the Agfa name were seen as a liability to the company, and it was dropped. Several product lines that had originated in the Agfa Ansco period were then continued under the Ansco name alone.

Agfa Ansco Models

A number of new camera models emerged from Binghamton during the Agfa Ansco period:

• "Agfa Ansco" box cameras
• Agfa-Box A-8
• "Cadet" box cameras
• Agfa PD16 Clipper
• Agfa Clipper Special
• Agfa Major (6x9 folding camera)
• Agfa Memo (folding Karat cassette 35mm)
• Agfa Pioneer
• Agfa PB 20 Plenax
• Agfa PB 20 Viking
• Agfa PD 16 Plenax
• Agfa Ansco Readyset Traveler (folding camera in 2 sizes)
• Ansco Shur Shot box camera
• Ansco Speedex

Postwar

In the post-WWII period, Ansco resumed importation of some Agfa-manufactured products, for example selling the Agfa Silette and Solinette series under the names Memar and Regent; or the Agfa Isolette series under the name Speedex.

Postwar Ansco cameras are listed in the Main Ansco article.

Postwar "Made for Ansco by Agfa" in "U.S. zone Germany" image by R. Steven Rainwater (Image rights)