Gallus Derlux / Derby Lux

In a French streak, after the FAP Norca and the Cornu Ontobloc, I continued to the next compact model on the French shelf. The subject is the Gallus Derlux, an odd-looking camera, true to the way the French see the world. The history of this brand is shrouded in mystery, a common trait among early- to mid-20th-century French camera makers. There’s little online and in print, other than a brief mention of the years of activity.

The earliest mention is about an aerial camera from 1922, perhaps as a reminder or lesson from WWI. Five years later came the Cadastro, a ‘topographic’ camera, which I guess was also an aerial camera. No further information.

The next on record are several 1922 folders of plate and rollfilm that are hardly seen today.

As with other European makers, a long list of stereo models followed, much styled after the stereo leader, a fellow Frenchman, Richard Jules. Per my database, there are 11 stereo models, but consulting the guides, there are probably more. In reality, I believe there were fewer models, with some having minor changes and listed as submodels or under a different name. The models that show up for sale most are the Gallus Stereo and Gallus Stereo Luxus.

1938 saw a Bakelite Klapp, also sold (made?) by Pontiac, probably taken over the production line of Ebner, a German company that had shut down in 1935.

In 1938, with the winds of war blowing, Gallus offered two Cady models, traditionally styled compact Klapp. The same camera under the same name was also offered by Hermagis, likely made by Gallus. Alsaphot sold a third French Cady, but it was a different camera.

Now comes camera genology. Foth, a German camera maker with roots back to the 1920s in Gdansk / Danzig in Poland / Prussia, making optical equipment, later moved to Berlin, planned to move to Switzerland, but ended up in Paris. This is atypical of this industry, which depends heavily on skilled hands that are not widely available. Foth’s France, whereabouts during the war, is unclear, but time-wise, it coincides with the appearance of the French-made Gallus Derby. There is no information on Gallus taking over the product, which raises the question of what happened to the Foth-Flex models, introduced after the Derby line, and why they were not resurrected by Gallus as well.

I do not see a mention that Gallus cameras were sold outside France. Further, aside from the Derlux models of the 1940s, very few appear for sale. Either the cameras were made in short runs, or users placed little value on them, or the quality did not last.

The Gallus Derby models

The common thread in all reviews is that the Derlux is the same as the Derby. It is not. It is inspired by the Derby; it borrowed the focal-plane curtain shutter from the Derby, but it is not a replica. At most, they look like remote cousins. The Derby is steel, painted and covered with skin; the Derlox is bare metal. The Derby has rounded shoulders; the Derlux has angular shoulders.

The first in this camera line is commonly identified as the Derby Gallus, a continuation of the German Derby. It is dated to France, 1939, just before the German invasion of May 1940. I doubt if much had happened in France, either Vichy or otherwise, during the war years. The Derby-Lux, later named Derlux, were presented in 1946, a year after V-E day. A Derlux Classique is also mentioned, but it seems to be the regular Derlux.

There is no record of further cameras made by Gallus, and the closure date is unknown.

The camera has a distinct look that cannot be mistaken for another model. It looks like an armament device, with a blunt appearance and angular edges. The camera on my bench could do with a good polish; otherwise, the shutter is crumpled but still moves freely, the lens is clean, and the bellows are clean.  The aperture needs CPR.

• The body is all metal, cast aluminum, with no skin or paint. There are many cameras without a skin cover, but other than very early models, all are painted, lacquered, or plated. The bare aluminum finish could never be perfect, as even after polishing, minor blemishes will show. With age, it would oxidize, accentuating the flaws. It is not the type of patina that may contribute to the appearance of other aging artifacts. The heavy aluminum body conceals the steel skeleton underneath, to which a magnet would happily stick.
• The top has, from left:
  • A small thumb button, above the feeding roll. Pull up to load a spool.
  • Next is the faintly marked shutter speed selector, which doubles as the shutter cocking. To cock the shutter, turn it clockwise till it locks. If you stop midway, it will wind back. To change speed, lift the button and turn as desired against the hardly visible dot on the inner brass pivot.
  • A cold accessory shoe.
  • A top-mount viewer, which is a blessing after the minuscule viewers seen in the last several weeks’ reviews. It reduces the image composition, yet is still practical.
  • Last is the winder button, arrow marked. Pull up to load a roll.
  • The winder and shutter actions are not connected, it takes winding the film and cocking the shutter separately.
• The back opens via a push-down thumb grip on the side.
• On the back is an elaborate depth-of-field table.
• On the back are two sets of coloured lenses, red and green. The red ones are for the regular paperback #127 roll; the green ones are for infrared photography. There is no sliding cover on the lenses; assume it was good enough for the low-speed films available in that generation.
• Inside are two roll bays, with a cloth focal-plane curtain shutter between them. At the time, it was uncommon for midrange-priced cameras. A roller guide is before the offtake spool.
• A pressure plate is mounted on the back cover.
• The front is busy.
  • At the top, by the speed selector, is the trigger knob.
  • The lens assembly is set on an aluminum plate, pulled out and pushed back with no extra levers or alike to lock in either position. To pull it out without damaging your fingernails, grasp the top and bottom (slightly) proud edges until it clicks into place. To close, just push back.
  • A hole in the top of the front plate aligns with the remote trigger port. It is enough to allow trough the head of the remote release cable to pass through.
  • The focusing dial is fitted on the front plate, with a finger rest and a long travel. Set it against the bar mark on the opposite side of the finger rest. Values are in meters.
  • The front serrated dial is the aperture setting.
  • Lenses were Gallix and Saphir 3.5/50 or 2.8/50 Saphir or Flor.
• The front plate is held by a pair of struts, with a short leather bellows in between.

The Derby Gallus is rarely seen for sale, though it has little significance beyond its “Made in France” marking. The Derby Lux is randomly seen, and the Derlux is the model that changed hands most in the last decade. I guess what it means is that the Derlux production run was longer than the other two.

For the collector, it is a model to have. There were not many cameras made at that time; it has a distinctive appearance and an early focal plane. This model sells between US$50 and four times over, so make your own choice. See the average transaction value at camdex.ca.