Bolsey family camera models

In my basement, two walls are lined with IKEA Billy cabinets; all have glass doors to keep out dust, which works in theory. My cameras are neatly set on the shelves, which is where it gets tricky.

Organizing the cameras can be done by country, type, format, age, and whatnot. Or, perhaps, a smorgasbord of aspects, which is closer to reality.  So, as with stocking shelves in a library, the cameras keep shuffling, and I would have been lost without my trusty database.

Once cameras are waltzing around, a few are always left behind, as they are borderline, which is the subject of this page. Within the American / 35 mm / rangefinder bunch, a smallish, pudgy, oddly shaped camera manages to stay behind. In the database, it relates to a short-lived post-war manufacturer and is somehow related to Alpa of Switzerland. This puzzled me, as Alpa is a European camera aristocracy, above and beyond anything the US camera industry had ever offered. Even the name does sound peculiar. I have four of this brand: two rangefinders, one mongrel and one that looks like a miniature cine camera.

So, I finally looked it up, and the story behind it is peculiar indeed.

The company is named after Jacques Bolsy, who was born Yaakov Bogopolsky, a true member of the tribe. The name Jacques does not hint at this ethnicity, except that my grandfather was so named.  While fellow Jews were not known for technical ability, many prominent names in the photography industry stood out, such as the Wirgin Brothers, Guthe & Thorsch, Komorowski, Joseph Rosenfeld, Paul Mendelssohn, and, most of all, the industry’s Forest Gump, Fritz Kaftanski. Even more so in the New World, where the entire Chicago Cluster could form a minyan, together with the founders of Hanimex, Revere, Perfex, Kalimar, Candid Camera, Simon Brothers, Allied Impex, and led by  Edwin Land, a scion of a family who landed in Ellis Island as Zalmanovitz and exited as Land.

The reason for such Jewish presence here was that in the old world Jews were excluded from the professions, trade guilds, and higher education; in the new world these restrictions still prevailed, but to a lesser extent, and new technologies such as photography and movie-making were up for grabs, as well as the likes of Las Vegas.

While searching for references, I was surprised by how popular the Bolsey line was, given its online presence. There is also a book about his affairs, as well as a film. With the wealth of online information comes also the matter of accuracy. As always with online sources, there are three data types: most are copy-and-paste, some are quite creative, and a mere few are genuine. The more online entries there are, the more variations of the second type there are. In this case, the only fact all agree upon is that Mr. Bolsey was born and died. Where and when and what he did in between is subject to many online suggestions.

From what I gather, Yaakov Bogopolski was born in 1895 in or near Kyiv, then part of the Russian Empire. The exact location may seem irrelevant, but it is relevant indeed. From the Early Modern era to post-WWI, Jews were confined to the Pale of Settlement, an area in Eastern Europe that stretched from the Baltic states to Crimea, governed mostly under the Russian Empire. No Jews were allowed in Russia proper, but under special dispensations.

In 1686, as part of the Polish-Russian peace treaty, Kyiv was secured as part of the Russian Empire rather than as the capital of subject Ukraine, which may underlie Putin’s claims to the country.  As such, only privileged Jews were allowed to reside there, which included the wealthy, desired professionals, certain trades and veterans of the imperial military.

Back to Jacques Bolsey, from what I read, his family was well-to-do. Evidence is that Jacques moved to French-speaking Geneva for medical school. French was the preferred language of the Russian intelligentsia and upper class; it took dedicated tuition to learn, which was out of reach to anyone but the upper crust.

Around 1914, at age 19, already recognized as talented in the arts and sciences, Yaakov moved to Geneva to study medicine and changed his name to a better-sounding one: Jacques Bolsky. To sustain himself, he drew portraits of the rich and famous, which most likely led him to the newly introduced photography, a mix of art and technology in which he excelled.  In 1924, still in Geneva, his med school status unknown, he presented the Cinegraph Bol, a 35mm cine camera that could double as a still camera and could be converted into an enlarger. The similarly featured Debrie Sept was presented at the same time, and it is anyone’s guess whether one was influenced by the other. The venture was sold to the Swiss company Paillard, which was looking for an answer to the up-and-coming Kodak amateur cine cameras. This became the basis for the famed Bolex camera line. Be that as it may, Wikipedia claims that once Paillard went into production, they scrapped the Bolsey designs and re-engineered the lot.

He did not rest there. In 1938, he designed a compact reflex camera named the Bolca Reflex, the rights to which he sold to Pignon, another Swiss company, which became the roots of the illustrious ALPA camera line. The dynasty lasted till ALPA succumbed to Japanese superiority and Soviet dumping prices, sold some Japanese-made ALPAs and eventually shut down in 1990.

In 1939, seeing the skies darkening for Europe’s Jews, Jaques moved to the US, where he established the Bosley Corporation of America and continued making cameras, aiming for the top end of the market. Although the company was American, it mostly produced in Switzerland, where skilled hands were available. In the post-war period, as with other US camera makers, he complemented his offering with entry-level German imports, Braun and Ising.

The first  Bolsey camera came in 1947. As a stopgap, between 1939 and 1947 he sold the Alpa Reflex models. I wonder how well these cameras were received during wartime. It is unclear who carried the US production; OBEX is often cited. I’m not sure whether it was an associated or independent facility. The Bolsey cameras were sold through individual dealers and via Montgomery Ward.

The last camera designed was far from the rest: the Bolsey 8, an 8mm miniature cine/stills camera made per Bolsey’s design by Finetta and was the basis for the elusive Tellcin S8.

The curtain fell on the camera factory in 1956, when it was sold to the Wittenauer Watch Company, an American company founded by a Swiss immigrant. Wittenauer continued in the camera trade, selling one locally made camera, the Festival, and the rest were rebranded Braun models. It did not last long and exited the trade in 1963.  The only contribution Wittenauer made to the photography world was the 1957 Cine Twin, an 8mm cine camera that could double as a projector, back to the Swiss roots.

Bolsey camera list

Bolsey B

• • 1947, first in the US-conceived Bolsey line. Wollensak 3.5/44 lens, Wollensak shutter, uncoupled rangefinder and viewfinder windows. Also available in red top and skin, offered at the time for $.20 more, and fetches a premium today. Watch for fakes, as with the Soviets turned Leicas.
  • 1950, US Air Force, aluminum finish, version of the B2 and the B Special.
  • 1950, US Army version of the B2 in black with olive leather and strap lugs, military code PH-324A.

Bolsey B2

• • As the B, Double exposure control and flash sync.

Bolsey B22

• • 1953, as the B2, Set-O-Matic flash sync, coupled rangefinder, Wollensak 3.2/44 lens, Wollensak Synchro Matic shutter.

Bolsey BB Special

• • 1954, as the B2, with removable lens mount. Offered with adapters for microscopes, telescopes and microfilm, as well as tele lenses.

Bolsey B3 / Jubilee

• • 1955, Steinheil 2.8/45 lens, Gauthier shutter, coupled rangefinder.

Bolsey C

• • 1950, a combined TLR with a waist finder and uncoupled rangefinder, on the B2 platform. Wollensak shutter and 3.2/44 Wollensak lens. I think the only such combination made.

Bolsey C22

• • 1953, as the C2, with coupled rangefinder.

Explorer

• • 1955, a down-to-earth viewfinder camera, winding lever. Steinheil Cassar 2.8/45 lens, Vero shutter. Assumed to be a rebranded Braun Gloriette.

Bolseyflex

• • 1958, A #120, pseudo TLR, again seemed to be made by Ising, Germany. Several variants made.

La Belle Pal

• • 1952, intended to be Bolsey A. Wollensak 4.5/44 lens and Wollensak shutter. Made by La Bell in Wisconsin; no other models made there.

Bolsey Reflex

• • Made by Alpa in Switzerland, initially named Alpa 1 or Alpaflex. Designed by Jacques Bolsey in his Swiss period, the rights were sold to Pignon, and it became the basis for the Alpa camera line.
  • 1942, Reflex Model A, Bolca 2.8/50 lens.
  • 1946, Reflex Model G, 1946, Angenieux  2.9/50
  • 1946, Reflex Model H, Angenieux 1.8/50 lens.

Bolsey 8

• • 1958, a miniature spring-loaded cine and stills camera, offered after the Bolsey works were sold to Wittenauer. Made by Finetta under Bolsey’s design. 8mm film in preloaded 25’ cartridges, good for just over 2 minutes. Cartridges made by AGFA and Gevaert. Kit lens Wollensak 3.5/44. Interchangeable lens; unknown if optional lenses were made. Shutter speed adjustable in stills mode.
  • 1961, Bolsey 8 Uniset, as the 8, fixed shutter speed for stills.
  • Descendants: 1958 Finetta Telcin S8 and the UK version Lady Bolsey 8.