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GNOME - Pixie-Flex (c.1950)

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Having understood the growing danger of Nazism, Heinrich Loebstein (1894-1977) decides to leave Germany with his family in 1938 and immigrate to Great Britain. Doing so, he abandons his flourishing company based in Stuttgart which produces high quality equipment, mostly enlargers, slides viewers and projectors.

He found refuge in Pontypridd, a welsh little city where he quickly re-sets up his company GNOME. Later on, he relocates this one in Cardiff where the production has continued until 1994.


Gnome Pixie-Flex

Well known for its enlargers and projectors, the GNOME Company also produced cameras from 1949 up to 1958. A good example of this production was the Gnome Pixie-Flex.

It is a pseudo TLR camera (but it was the very first camera of this type produced in Wales) giving 6 x 6 negatives on a 620 film.

Its enamelled metal body is solid and its front edges are carefully chromed.

It is equipped with a large viewfinder which helps to differentiate it from its cousin the Gnome Pixis which is using a sport frame viewer. Other characteristics of these two cameras are identical. The shutter of the Pixie-Flex has two settings, B and I, with “I” being approximately 1/50th sec.

 

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