Ica Maximar (207)

Photos by PG text by PG. From the collection of PG. Last update 2012-12-14 par Eric Borel.

Manufactured or assembled in Germany from 1914 to 1926.
Index of rarity in France: Rare (among non-specialized garage sales)
Inventory number: 1971

See the complete technical specifications

Chronology of cameras Ica

Ica AG (International Camera Aktien Gesellschaft) was established in 1909 through the merger of the companies Huttig, Krugener, Wuensche, and Carl Zeiss Palmos, with Zulauf joining in 1911.

Several years were required to finalize this merger, during which production relied on the expertise of each of the founding companies. From this period, you can find some original models, but also often copies from one or another of the previous brands bearing the name Ica, sometimes even not listed in an Ica catalog and without a specific model code.

It was from 1912 that the situation stabilized, and the various camera models began to follow a certain coherence until 1926, when Ica ceased to exist. It was absorbed, along with others, into Zeiss Ikon.

Ica offered a wide range of non-stereo view cameras, which can be classified as follows:

Cameras with a single-extension vertical bellows: Niklas, Alpha, Lola, Teddy, Corrida, Icar (Ikarus), Sirene, Volta, Victrix, and two models with automatically extending bellows upon opening: Atom and Cupido.
Cameras with double-extension vertical bellows: Delta, Hekla, Reicka, Orix, Trix, Minimal, Toska, Trona, Maximar, Nelson, and Ideal.
Cameras with horizontal bellows, exclusively in the 13 x 18 format: Ingo, Jul, and Triplex; the last two have triple extensions.
Square format cameras: Favorit, Tropica, Juwell, and Universal Palmos.
Travel cameras: Amateur, Elegant, Kosmopolit, Hochtourist, and Perfekt. Also, there are studio cameras, with the largest format being 80 x 100 cm.

Finally, there are less common early Ica cameras, such as Minimum Ideal, Superba-Reicka, Reicka-Quer, and Superba-Ideal. Additionally, there are cameras from that same period that lack identification numbers, can be found in multiple categories, and are not listed in catalogs.

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Traduction de Manuel M

This folding view camera with double extension is identified rather easily as being of Ica brand, because inside the body hides hardly a small round plate. On this one is the famous five branch star, emblem of Ica.

The Maximar is very close to the Hekla 168. Both appear side-by-side in the catalogues, but the Maximar has a greater longevity, because it is founded under the same name in the range of Zeiss Ikon. The price difference between the two cameras with identical lenses is negligible.

The lenses which one can find on this camera (not-exhaustive) are:

Ica Extrarapid Aplanat opening to 8
Ica “Novar” Anastigmat opening to 6.8
Ica Double anastigmat Hekla to 6.8
Ica Double anastigmat Maximar to 6.8
Zeiss Tessar to 6.3
Zeiss Amatar to 6.8

It is seen that confusion can quickly arrive between Hekla and Maximar if one bases oneself only on the name of the lenses. Maximar is with double extension, i.e. that the bellows is mounted on a rail, which itself is mounted on another rail. That makes it possible to increase the focal distance considerably. In the case of Hekla, it is a camera with simple extension.

The version Zeiss Ikon is more widespread than the Ica version.

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