Hi all,

I am the owner of a 4x5 RB Graflex B serial 1323xx which according to Dan Fromm's very kind help, belongs to a block produced after 28 Sep 1923 but before 6 June 1924.

It just came to me in a dusty condition, with torn chimney. While cleaning and examining the camera, I decided to properly clean the bellows and give it some leather nourishment. When taking off the front cover to access the rear folds of the bellows, I noted a three-digit number punched into the wood: '524.'

http://www.flickr.com/photos/heritagefutures/5075063552

It is very tempting to read this as May 1924, which would dovetail ever so nicely with the dates above.

However, I am tad reluctant to jump to that conclusion, because when researching cameras by Foth & Co I am continually running into two or three-digit numbers (on body, lens mount etc.) which are clearly codes designating the maker / assembler of that particular body etc.

Has anyone here in Graflex Land experience with this? Does that 3-digit number designate the month of manufacture or is that a staff code?

Cheers from Australia[url][/url]

Oh wouldn't it be fun if that meant the date, but then all of the cameras in that month would have the same number and it would be confusing to the employees as to which back was filed/sanded or in any other way 'fitted' to a particular back.

Nope it's an assembly code Graflex cameras weren't made on a assembly line they were made in batches and parts were hand fitted, they numbered them so they knew which part went with which camera.

I have yet to find any detailed information on exactly how this worked, (why three digits? why machine stamped? did the numbers refer to an employee or just the camera?) at this point in time I think we'd have to use a ouija board to ask the right people.

Thanks for that..
is it always three digits? and if, do some of them start with a zero?

BTW in the FOTH-world these numbers are empoylee codes...

see my post here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/camerapedia/discuss/72157624692683978

Most of the time it's 3 digits, I haven't seen a first digit being zero (never say never in the Graflex world) I do have a F&S NYC plate bag mag that was custom made (format was something like 4x81/4) and a lot of the parts were stamped with a 2 digit number.

Just to confuse the situation, the serial number book used these numbers as serial numbers, but only for the 6-8"cirkut backs.

Thanks Les...have only found the number on one piece, but then, I have not taken the camera totally apart...did you ever start a database on these? I have been doing this for the FOTH cameras...who knows whether it ever will get anywhere, but i am collating data.