Cooke Optics
Encyclopedia
Cooke Optics Ltd. is a camera lens manufacturing company based in Leicester
, known earlier as Taylor, Taylor and Hobson (TTH) and then Taylor Hobson. T. S. Taylor, an optician, his brother W. Taylor, an engineer, and a Mr Hobson, a businessman, formed the company in 1886.
The name Cooke originally came from the company T. Cooke & Sons
of York
, a manufacturer of telescopes. The optical manager of that company, H. Dennis Taylor (no relation), devised the Cooke triplet
lens in the 1890s. Cooke of York was not interested in the manufacture of camera lenses, and licensed this design and others to TTH. Subsequently many of TTH's own designs, though unconnected with Cooke of York, also carried the Cooke brand. The Cooke triplet lens was also made under licence by Voigtländer
and other companies.
Throughout the twentieth century TTH produced a series of innovations, and supplied lenses for the (once large) UK camera industry, for photolithography in the printing industry in the USA and UK, and for cinematography. It provided a succession of technical solutions for Hollywood's evolving needs.
Notable products include:
Bell & Howell
took control of the company in 1930, but it was sold to Rank
in 1946. In its later years, Taylor-Hobson's main interest was metrology.
In 1998, Cooke Optics was a new company formed following a buy-out of the Optical division of Taylor-Hobson. Chairman Les Zellan led the buy-out. Dave Stevens was then Managing Director of the Leicester-based facility and remained so until 2008 when Robert Howard replaced him as Chief Executive Officer.
The company now designs and manufactures 35 mm lenses for the film industry. In a reversion to its previous markets, it has also made limited quantities of the PS945, a redesigned Pinkham and Smith portrait lens, and the Series XVa, a redesigned triple-convertible lens for 10×8 inch format. The company distributes to over 60 countries worldwide and exports 90% of its production.
History:
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
, known earlier as Taylor, Taylor and Hobson (TTH) and then Taylor Hobson. T. S. Taylor, an optician, his brother W. Taylor, an engineer, and a Mr Hobson, a businessman, formed the company in 1886.
The name Cooke originally came from the company T. Cooke & Sons
T. Cooke & Sons
T. Cooke & Sons was a British instrument-making firm, founded by Thomas Cooke.The firm built the clock face on the Darlington clock tower.In 1922 it merged with Troughton & Simms to form Cooke, Troughton & Simms.-References:* *...
of York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, a manufacturer of telescopes. The optical manager of that company, H. Dennis Taylor (no relation), devised the Cooke triplet
Cooke triplet
The Cooke triplet is a photographic lens designed and patented in 1893 by Dennis Taylor who was employed as chief engineer by T. Cooke & Sons of York...
lens in the 1890s. Cooke of York was not interested in the manufacture of camera lenses, and licensed this design and others to TTH. Subsequently many of TTH's own designs, though unconnected with Cooke of York, also carried the Cooke brand. The Cooke triplet lens was also made under licence by Voigtländer
Voigtländer
Voigtländer is an optical company founded by Johann Christoph Voigtländer in Vienna in 1756 and is thus the oldest name in cameras. It produced the Petzval photographic lens in 1840, and the world's first all-metal daguerrotype camera in 1841, also bringing out plate cameras shortly afterwards...
and other companies.
Throughout the twentieth century TTH produced a series of innovations, and supplied lenses for the (once large) UK camera industry, for photolithography in the printing industry in the USA and UK, and for cinematography. It provided a succession of technical solutions for Hollywood's evolving needs.
Notable products include:
- a soft-focus 'portrait' lens favoured by Clarence WhiteClarence Hudson WhiteClarence Hudson White was an American photographer, teacher and a founding member of the Photo-Secession movement. He grew up in small towns in Ohio, where his primary influences were his family and the social life of rural America. After visiting the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in...
and Alfred StieglitzAlfred StieglitzAlfred Stieglitz was an American photographer and modern art promoter who was instrumental over his fifty-year career in making photography an accepted art form...
, - the Aviar aerial survey lens, designed in World War I when German lenses and optical glass became unavailable to the RAF, and judged to be superior to the German designs,
- the Series XV triple-convertible lens for 10×8 inch cameras, favoured by Ansel AdamsAnsel AdamsAnsel Easton Adams was an American photographer and environmentalist, best known for his black-and-white photographs of the American West, especially in Yosemite National Park....
and others (also see below), - the Opic and Speed Panchro large-aperture lenses, widely used by Hollywood,
- the inverse telephoto (retrofocus) lens, created for use with the early TechnicolorTechnicolorTechnicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
process, and now the standard design for wide-angle lenses in 35 mm135 filmThe term 135 was introduced by Kodak in 1934 as a designation for cartridge film wide, specifically for still photography. It quickly grew in popularity, surpassing 120 film by the late 1960s to become the most popular photographic film format...
and other small-format cameras, - high-quality zoom lenses for cinematography and television,
- high quality lenses for cinema projectors.
Bell & Howell
Böwe Bell & Howell
Bell & Howell is a U.S.-based former manufacturer of motion picture machinery, founded as Bell & Howell in 1907 by two projectionists, and headquartered in Wheeling, Illinois. The company merged with Böwe Systec Inc...
took control of the company in 1930, but it was sold to Rank
Rank Organisation
The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment company formed during 1937 and absorbed in 1996 by The Rank Group Plc. It was the largest and most vertically-integrated film company in Britain, owning production, distribution and exhibition facilities....
in 1946. In its later years, Taylor-Hobson's main interest was metrology.
In 1998, Cooke Optics was a new company formed following a buy-out of the Optical division of Taylor-Hobson. Chairman Les Zellan led the buy-out. Dave Stevens was then Managing Director of the Leicester-based facility and remained so until 2008 when Robert Howard replaced him as Chief Executive Officer.
The company now designs and manufactures 35 mm lenses for the film industry. In a reversion to its previous markets, it has also made limited quantities of the PS945, a redesigned Pinkham and Smith portrait lens, and the Series XVa, a redesigned triple-convertible lens for 10×8 inch format. The company distributes to over 60 countries worldwide and exports 90% of its production.
Further reading
- Wilkinson, Matthew, and Colin Glanfield. A lens collector's vade mecum. (CD publication) "Version 7/5/2001" (7 May 2001).
External links
History:
- Cooke Soft Focus Lenses
- 1890s: Cooke triplet
- 1910s: Shackleton and World War I
- 1920s: Hollywood and Everest conquered
- 1930s: Technicolor and Beyond
- 1940s: Bell & Howell
- 1950s: Pros and amateurs
- 1960s: The cinema advances
- 1970s: 20–100mm
- 1980s: Zoom, zoom, zoom
- 1990s: Cooke S4 primes
- 2000s: and Beyond