Rudolf Krügener

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Dr. Krügener pocket book camera
Product of ICA AG Dresden
Company advertisement 1905

Rudolf Krügener (born December 8, 1847 in Elberfeld (now part of Wuppertal ), † September 22, 1913 in Dresden ) was an entrepreneur in the German photo industry .

Life

Krügener had a doctorate in chemistry and headed a branch of Agfa in Frankfurt am Main . Private interest led him to photography.

Since Krügener was unable to walk after an accident (he wore a self-made prosthesis), he was looking for a camera that was suitable for him. Together with the Frankfurt mechanic Krücke, he developed one of the smallest cameras of the time in 1885, which Dr. Krügener pocket book camera . The dimensions were remarkably small at 45 × 100 × 140 mm, the magazine for 24 plate holders was a novelty. The camera was an economic success, which prompted Krügener no longer to have the camera manufactured by Krücke, but to set up his own workshop in Frankfurt-Bockenheim in 1888 . The company traded under the name of Dr. Rudolf Krügener, Photochemical Laboratory and Factory of Photographic Apparatus Frankfurt-Bockenheim . The factory had its own lens grinding shop and a department for the production of photochemicals.

In 1907 a branch was established in Furtwangen . Krügener's commercial ventures were prudent, and his cameras were always state-of-the-art. The range comprised well over 100 models. Although he ran an extremely solid business company, for personal reasons he agreed to merge his company to form the Internationale Camera Actiengesellschaft (ICA) in 1909.

After the merger, the camera factory in Frankfurt was closed. Krügener's son Walter took over the management of the Furtwangen part of the company, his son Hermann Krügener became a member of the board of directors of the ICA.

His daughter Ruth married the future German camera pioneer Hugo Schrader , who had found a job in his company since 1900. His grandson from this marriage was Goetz Schrader , who continued the Plaubel camera factory founded by his father Hugo.

Known products

  • The "Dr. R. Krügener's Pocket Book Camera ”(also called“ Krügener's Patent Book Camera ”) was completed and sold by Haake & Albers .

literature

  • Richard Hummel: SLR cameras from Dresden - history, technology, facts Lindemanns, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3895061271
  • Pocket book camera , within the club and staff news . In: Photographische Korrespondenz , 25th volume, Verlag der Photographische Korrespondenz, Vienna and Leipzig, 188, pp. 170–172

Web links

Commons : Rudolph Krügener  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Krügener's Patent Book Camera 1889
  2. At the end of the article about the "Taschenbuch-Camera" in the Photographische Korrespondenz in Vol. 25, it is only mentioned that Haake & Albers have taken over sole sales for Germany and Austria-Hungary.