Gap Box 6 x 9 |
Version française |
Manufactured or assembled in France from (Circa) 1950 to (After) 1950.
Index of rarity in France: Rare (among non-specialized garage sales)
Inventory number: 4794
See the complete technical specifications
Chronology of cameras Gap
Sometimes confused with Agfa, because of its discreet logo with the shape of a diamond 1, GAP cameras are indeed French. Mc Keown evokes a collaboration with German manufacturers during the 30s, but the manufacturing of the 40s and 50s is national.
There is little information about the company. The name of the designer George Paris is often mentioned to explain the name of the GAP brand. George Paris was a kind of compulsive inventor, filing in the 10s, international patents for an ignition system for Pigeon lamps, an electro-magnetic switch, a clamp system for fixing the pipes, an ashtray for smokers, etc. . but strangely nothing related to photography.
GAP fabrications are essentially boxes, although there are some models that bear a resemblance to Ultra-Fex, but in all cases, the material used is folded sheet metal.
GAP box cameras attract amateurs more by their decoration than by their technical qualities. Let's try to establish a synthesis of the various box models by characteristics:
Box 3 x 4 (127 rollfilm) Only one finder, no handle, strap attachment points on some models, back maintained by pressure. |
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v-groove finder riveted to top | Folding finder | ||
Frame finder | Tube finder | ||
Painted front face | Front face with deco | ||
With addition of a metallic octagonal ornament | |||
Film winding, only early models |
Later models | ||
Box 6 x 9 (120 rollfilm) Two finders, one handle. The back is held by a clasp. |
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No integrated viewfinder (only one side added) |
Two integrated viewfinders |
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With addition of a metallic octagonal ornament |
With addition of a round metallic ornament |
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With metallic addition, showing the shape of the logo (rarely painted) |
With part of a Supergap |
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Sober decor | Colorful Deco | ||
Sober or colorful decor, and metallic addition |
Hybridizations between these characteristics can give a large number of variants.
False variants circulate, they generally have a very colorful front face, with a rigid extra thickness, because the original decoration is very thin. The Pégamoid is a cotton canvas coated with nitrocellulose, which explains the frayed appearance of a large number of false copies.
The catalogs are not of much use for the determination of the color variants, their illustrations being only in black and white. Note that some catalogs make the mistake of giving these small box cameras for a 4 x 6.5 cm format, instead of 3 x 4 cm, confusing film format and negative format.
The 6 x 9 cm format box cameras theoretically exists in two types: Type 51, simple and Type 52, with yellow filter and two diaphragms.
The GAP boxes, due to their low cost, have been used as giveaways; hence some excesses on the decor.
1 This logo only appears on the back of 6 x 9 cm box cameras. It may or may not include the GAP name.
Ce Box 6 x 9 est un hybride (de série) entre les Box 6 x 9 de la marque (très conventionnels) et le Supergap, dont il reprend le bloc objectif/obturateur, mais en en peignant les joncs en blanc. Il est possible que cette fabrication réponde à un besoin de diminuer le coût de fabrication en mutualisant certaines pièces entre la série des Box et celle des Supergap. Cette hypothèse semble d'autant plus plausible que le box est ici juste muni d'un viseur en tôle pliée agrafé sur le coté (coté masqué sur la photo).
Ce modèle est moins courant que la plupart des autres box de la marque, et une autre hypothèse pourrait être émise. Il pourrait s'agir des toutes dernières fabrications de box par la marque, simple assemblage de pièces d'un stock résiduel.
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Cameras from Ebay France (Gap) (Uploaded each 3 hours)
X2 Appareil photo GAP ,Georges Paris - FOTOBABY années 40 64,00 euros / 1 enchère Finira le 08-05-2024 à 10:36:23 | 2 anciens appareils photos ,de marque ULTRA FLEX ,GAP 35,00 euros Finira le 09-05-2024 à 10:25:52 | ANCIEN APPAREIL PHOTO GAP 18,00 euros Finira le 08-05-2024 à 21:27:57 |