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Pierrat André Drepy
France Version française
Photos by AS text by SYLVAIN HALGAND. From the collection of Arnaud Saudax. Last update 2023-05-09 par Sylvain Halgand.

Manufactured or assembled in France from (Circa) 1953 to (After) 1953.
Index of rarity in France: Infrequent (among non-specialized garage sales)
Inventory number: 11147

See the complete technical specifications

Chronology of cameras Pierrat Andre 

André Ernest Pierrat, located at 16 boulevard Eugène Decros, Les Lilas (Seine), was a folding camera maker active from the second half of the 1940s until around 1960. On July 11, 1945 (359.496), he registered the Drépy trademark at the commercial court of the Seine. The name of the trademark was formed by the last syllable of AnDRE and the first syllable of PIerrat.

ArticleAll Drépy production is based on a unique folding model that has been modified and improved several times.

An article in Le Photographe from March 1946 claims that it was designed between 1940 and 1942, during the German occupation, which would explain why examples were produced as early as 1945. Fantasy or reality? Note the peculiar spelling of the shutter's name.



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It is a well-made all-metal and leather-covered camera. Despite the difficult period, the materials used are of high quality. For instance, the bellows are made of genuine leather rather than cloth used by some competitors. All components of the camera, whether it's the bellows or the lens, are manufactured within the company. André Pierrat filed a patent application in 1945 for improvements to photographic lens shutters (918,646) and in 1948 for a delayed central shutter (975,026). The camera is a folding 6 x 9, often also 4.5 x 6, and accepts 120 and 620 films. The folding mechanism is automatic. The shutter is cocked on the lens, but the release button is on the camera body. The camera is equipped with a safety feature that requires advancing the film before the shutter can be released.

The lenses and shutters have names beginning with "Dre." Drestop is the name used for the shutters, which was registered on July 11, 1945, at the same time as the Drépy trademark. Drestyl and Destar are lens names.

Until 1953, models had a folding viewfinder fixed on one side of the camera. Later, a hood incorporating a rangefinder/viewfinder and the release button completely covers the side, encouraging horizontal use.

Drépy

 

 

  Year (c.) Lens Shutter   Price (francs)

Folding viewfinder
Drépy Drépy 1947-? Pierrat
4,5/105
1 à 1/250, B, T,
Timer
6 x 9
and 4 x 61
12170 (1948)
ET Dépry 1948-50 Drestar2 4,5/105
coated
1 à 1/250, B, T,
Timer
6 x 9
and 4 x 6
13135 (1948)
B Drépy 1950-53 Drestyl3 4,5/105
Drestop I
1/10 à 1/100, B, T,
timer, synchro
6 x 9 13740 (1953)
BT Drépy 1950-53 Drestyl
4,5/105
coated

Drestop I
1/10 à 1/100, B, T,
timer, synchro

6 x 9 14535 (1953)
DT Drépy 1950-53 Drestyl
4,5/105
coated
Drestop II
1 à 1/250, B, T
timer, synchro
6 x 9
and 4,5 x 6
18075 (1953)
FT
(pansynchro)
  1949-? Drestar
4,5/105
coated
Drestop II
1 à 1/250, B, T,
timer
Adjustable synchronization
6 x 9
and 4,5 x 6
20180 (1953)
FT
(pansynchro)
  1949-53 Drestar
4,5/105
coated
Drestop II
1 à 1/250, B, T,
timer
Adjustable synchronization
6 x 9
and 4,5 x 6
20180 (1953)
Viewfinder integrated into the top
GT Drépy 1954-1956 Rangefinder
Drestar
3,5/100
coated
Drestop II
1 à 1/250, B, T,
Timer
Adjustable synchronization
6 x 9
and 4,5 x 6
29000 (1955)
GT Drépy 1954-1956 Rangefinder
Drestar
4,5/100
coated
Drestop II
1 à 1/250, B, T,
Timer
Adjustable synchronization
6 x 9
and 4,5 x 6
24880 (1955)
GT Drépy 1954-1956 Rangefinder
Drestar
4,5/100
coated
Drestop II
1 à 1/250, B, T,
Timer
6 x 9
and 4,5 x 6
24880 (1955)
Standard 6/9 Drépy   Drestyl 6,3/105 Drestop
synchro
6 x 9  
Drépy Pansynchro Drépy   Drestyl 4,5/105 Drestop Pansynchro
1 à 1/250, B
   
Drépy Drépy     1/25, 1/75, B    
Drépy Drépy   Drestyl 6,3/105 Drestop
1/25, 1/150, B
synchro
6 x 9
and 4,5 x 9
 

Letter T in the name means the lens is coated ( in french "Traité")

1 The catalogs are quite imprecise regarding the second dimension of the negatives.
2 with 4 lenses
3 with 3 lenses

A. Pierrat also sold accessories, including a flash, without it being known whether he was the manufacturer. A twin-lens reflex camera, the Dreflex, was listed in the catalog for some time, but it was a third-party production on which Pierrat only mounted his lenses.

__________

This model is very simple, with a shutter having few speeds, and a diaphragm with only two apertures. The lens and shutter have no brand or model markings.

Pierrat Andre Drepy





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