I've been looking at the viewfinder assembly of my 3¼X4¼ "Anniversary Speed Graphic" since I bought it, used, in 1966, and I still haven't this out:

The side of the mounting plate that faces out, toward the Kalart rangefinder, extends a bit beyond the edge of the VF tube and bends up at a right angle. The vertical part has two holes drilled through it. I can't imagine what they're for.

I would suspect that they were a provision for affixing some kind of precursor to the "encircling bracket" made for the 4X5 side-RF "Pacemakers," but I see no anchor points for such a thing on the side of the camera, beneath the rangefinder.

Has anyone ever seen an "Anniversary" with something attached to this plate and, if so, what was that thing?

The holes (they are threaded, btw) in the VF mount are indeed for a bracket. The lower holes were drilled into the wood of the camera body below the RF, and would not be there unless the bracket had been fitted.
I've been looking for one of these brackets for my 4x5 Anny. Speed, which had one fitted at one time and has the two mounting holes drilled. Anyone who has one should feel free to PM me.
Top

For us visual people, here's a photo of two Mini-Speeds

The left camera is (ser 235xxx) or and shows the universal bracket running underneath the VF while the later camera from (241xxx) has the bent under bracket so it's easier to switch brackets without fiddling the the VF.

Notice too the black peep sight and the rounded matte finished shutter wind key on the earlier one.



The left camera is set up for an Abbey flash, while the right has a Mendelson bracket.

While the bracket holes are in the same place, the brackets are slightly different.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Les on 2004-04-14 07:37 ]</font>

The assembly on the right looks like the one I have, minus the bracket, of course. I note that this is encircling an old-style Kalart rangefinder, and the bracket also supports the user's choice of rangefinder enhancement ("Focuscope" or tube).

This is most helpful. If I want an encircling bracket for the "Anniversary," I will construct one, as I now see that an original bracket would not accommodate a "Focuspot," and would impose unnecessary complexity around the RF eyepiece.

If I recall, the first version of the Kalart with a Focospot would be the black bodied variety.

By then they would have used just the strip on the cover of the black Kalart and nothing else. Just because that bracket under the VF is there, doesn't mean it was used. I've got Graphics here with odd brackets from Heiland Medelson and Abbey and they don't use the VF bracket at all.

Later on of course they came out with the Graflite enciricling bracket that would work with a Focospot.

Les:

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, and the pix of the two brackets really answered the mail. BUT...is that dust, or mabye even DIRT that is seen on the tops of these cameras?

Hey you want the mail FAST or do you want it PRETTY???!!

I'm not telling which one of the Odd Couple I take after, but the cleaning lady refuses to walk in my office after she lost her shoe coming out once.