Rectaflex: Worlds first PP SLR:

Rectaflex, Worlds first pentaprism slr camera, was produced in Rome, Italy. Its founder, Telemaco Corsi, started construction of a PP SLR in 1946. He made a couple of prototypes later that year to be tested among professional photographers. At the Milan Fair in May/June 1947, the prototype was shown, although only partly working. At the Milano Fair one year later, the fully working prototype called Standard 947 was gaining much attention and went into test production a few months later.The first series produced version, the A. 1000, was for sale late '48, around one year before the Contax S of East Germany! (For timeline Rectaflex/Contax S, see PP SLR: 1948-1954 
The Rectaflex Standard was produced in different series. Here are the ones from '48 till '55 ('58):
1948: From June till September: the pre-series Standard 947
1948: September: the first series production of series Standard A.1000, sn.1001-2127+
1949: April: series Standard B.2000, sn from -2173 to somewhere close to 3000.
1949: From September: series Standard B.3000, sn from 3001 to 3970+
1950: From June: series Standard B.4000 (Duo Focus), sn from 4001 to 4471+
1950: Unknown date: Very few B.5000 produced. Only 2 samples known? B.5122, B.5124.
1950: From September till May 1952: Junior series, most A.1000 bodies, some B.16000
1951: From April/May till April '52: series Standard B.16000, sn from 16001 to 16862+
1951: From June till December: test series 20000 B; sn. from 20101 to under 20350.
1952: From September: series Standard 25000 B/25000. From 25001 to close to 29500.
1954: From January till very early 1955: series Standard 30000 from 29500 to some 31350

1952: From June through 1953: the very special 3-lens Rotor. Some 50-75 units built.

1955: The company is sold and moved to Lichtenstein. Prototype series 40000 till 1958, some 300
1957: Production of new prototypes 40000 series in Rome. Only 12 produced.

Aside from the Standard series (A.1000 to 30000) Rectaflex produced some special series, namely the Junior series, the Gold series, the Air Force series, the 24x32 frame series and the Rotor series. There were also some very few black houses within the Standards.

This information is mostly based on Marco Antonetto's very detailed book "Rectaflex- The Magic Reflex" of 2002. The B. 51xx samples are not mentioned there. Other special and limited series may also turn up in the future as examples of the company's strive to meet special needs in special markets.
The Rectaflex features a trigger related mirror - TRM - that follows the movement of the shutter release button (trigger), with a finder going gradually black as you press the button and opens as the button goes back to normal position. Not as fast as the IRM, but far better than having to rewind to see the subject through the finder. The shutter speeds range from 1 to 1/1000 second, latest versions had 1/1300 and Junior version had 1/500. It also featured a kind of 45-degree cylinder split image focusing system, introduced from around A 1250, that is already from 1948. As Rectaflex had no intentions of producing lenses of their own, many independent and famous optical companies queued up to produce for them, like Angenieux, Berthiot, Royer, Schneider Kreuznach, Kilfitt, Carl Zeiss Jena, Steinheil, Voigtlländer, Filotecnica Salmoiraghi and Old Delft. Rectaflex then rebuilt them to fit their own mount.
Some West German camera producers, like Leitz, would not deliver lenses, or at least hesitated to do so, as they soon saw the Italians as hard competitors to their own cameras.
Would Ferrari ever deliver motors to Mercedes?

For more on Who was First? see: World's first PPslr:

The first series produced Rectaflex was the A.1000 series of September 1948. Some 1150 copies were produced until December. Due to some problems with the quality of the long shutter times, a major part of them were held back at the factory, while most of the ones sold were called back. The bodies of these cameras were later used for the production of the Junior series in 1950. The letter A before the serial number indicated the first version, the ones with film cutter.Of the cameras produced, only some 250 samples ever reached the market before Rectaflex discovered the problems and stopped exporting and producing. Those already exported (only very few were intended for the home market), were returned to the factory. We do not know exactly what the facts are concerning this first wave of cameras, but some were probably sold already. Were they all returned? France and the USA were the countries to receive the first export. Are there still some out there?

The second series in the Rectaflex line was unofficially called the 2000-series and given a B before the number. The letter B indicated a second series. They had the same bodies as on the previous series, but without the film cutter, or even the hole for it, and also with some inner corrections made. Still, the bottom of the camera was maintained as on the A. 1000 series. Besides the lack of film cutter handle on the left side of the top plate, the only externally visible change was the somewhat different look of the back wall opening handle on the base plate. Internally, there were some small changes. During the production of the B. 2000-serie,s there was an ongoing development, especially as concerns the pentaprism. But officially, this came with the next series.
As Rectaflex very soon discovered problems with the long shutter speeds on the A. 1000 series, the major part of it, not yet being sold, was held back in the factory. The ones already sold, some 250 pieces, were called back for modification, and a major part of them returned. The A. 1000 series numbered more than 1000, thus having serial numbers up to 2127, as the last known. The ones kept in the factory were rebuilt into later versions, most of them to the less expensive Junior model a couple of years later.
Because of this, the next series, called the B. 2000 and starting with 2173 as the lowest known number, is the oldest series one can expect to find today. Samples from the A. 1000 series may still be there, but in extremely low numbers, if at all. So, my samples, nos 2173 and 2238, may be among the earliest ones still around. More than that: They both work perfectly, and especially the B.2238 seems flawless!
Here are the pictures:

The B. 3000 series, starting with 3001, was produced from September 1949, about the same time as the Contax S started production. The new series represented some changes from the outgoing B. 2000: First of all, the pentaprism had undergone some development through the year and they were officially presented with the B. 3000. By replacing the sides in the prism with newly developed convex sides, the image was seen bigger and brighter. This led to a somewhat bigger prism house, being 2 mm higher than the previous ones. To stabilise the film cassette and eliminate the danger of twisting the film, the bottom of the film cassette well was made more open so that the spool of the cassette could rest on a small aluminium cylinder being attached to the inside of the base plate.

The B.4000 series, introduced from June 1950, was called the Duo Focus. The prism had been improved from the last B. 3000 cameras, in fact from late B 2000, by changing the second side in the prism from flat to convex, making the viewer even brighter. The name Duo Focus was pointing at the fact that there was a combination of two systems. First, the 45-degree split image system that broke any line in the centre of the motive until it was in focus, plus the more traditional focus system . In fact, the Duo Focus system had been there from later A. 1000 cameras, but improved through the B. 2000 and B. 3000 series, the later leading to a third convex side in the prism that was officially introduced with the 4000 series. Mechanically, the only improvement from the previous series was done to the lens mount and the long-time curtain gears.
The possible explanation of the Duo Focus name being introduced on the B. 4000 series in 1950 is the competition that came from the Contax S at the same time, during its first year of production. The East Germans had the name and the production skills, while the Italians had a more advanced camera with the trigger related mirror and the Duo Focus. So, they needed to tell the world about it. There was also a special folder explaining it.
The production of B.4000 series rose to only some 480 pieces, ending at roughly sn. 4480.

From what we know, the B.4000 series was produced in less than 500 copies. The next series was called B.16000. But in December 2015 a camera with the sn. B.5122 appears on an international auction. And soon after, another one numbered B.5124. Marco Antonetto, in his very thorough research, does not mention it, and I, during my time as a collector, have never come across it. But they both exist and are now parts of this collection. So, what is the story behind them? Whether this is an until now unknown special series, repairs that were given new numbers, a part of the B. 4000 series that exceeds the production numbers given in any literature, or a very limited test series, will have to be investigated.

So, the "not existing" B.5122 has arrived. And shortly after, the B.5124!
Firstly: They are not B.4000s with high numbers. These cameras are not like any of the other series. The difference may be small, but at least on the outside, there is one: All series from A.1000 to B.4000 had two serial numbers engraved, one at the top plate, behind the lens release button, and one at the rear of the prism house. The latter had the A or B before the number, while the one at the top plate had an N. The two B. 5000 samples both have the numbering of the B.16000 series, that is a B before both numbers.
But they are not like the B.16000 series either, since they have the two flash contacts from the earlier series, not three as on the B.16000 and B.20000 series. And they have the lens mount of the B.4000, not the improved one that came with the next series. This may seem like minor details, but they are important, as they set them apart from all other series. As shown under, there are other details too, clearly placing these cameras between the B.4000 and the B.16000 series.
Early June 2018 a hybrid Rectaflex was sold through eBay. Parts of the body were from earlier series, while the top of the prism house (no engravings on it), the shutter speed dial (1/1300) and the shutter trigger (mushroom type) were of 30 000-series design. The serial number was hard to read, but the seller declared it to be N. 5905. This camera may be a repair, built on an elder camera. The left top plate, where the rewinder knob is placed, may have been shifted, and a new, unused number engraved. Or it may have been assembled from different left-over parts in the factory during or after the collapse of the company. Otherwise, the number 5905 makes no sense, as it was never included in the series production. The very few 5xxx-series cameras known had numbers just over 5120, as shown here.
Or, the whole thing is just a fraud, put together outside the factory. That possibility kept me from bidding. Anyway, the "5905" is not a representative of any official or unofficial model.

After having discovered the long shutter time problems on the A.1000 series, Rectaflex might have just repaired them before sending them to a market that was so eager to get them. But Telemaco Corsi was already into the next generation cameras, and the A.1000 cameras belonged to a passed stage. So he a and the rest of the leadership found themselves sitting on several hundred houses that they at first did not intend to use. This is typical to they way the company was run. Production was changed all the time, giving room for new inventions but also slowing down the production capacity. There are reports of machines being ordered for improved production, but never even used because new ideas made them old fashion before they entered the factory. The machine costs were phenomenal and production low.
So, Telemaco Corsi needed to do something with the A.1000 houses. As the price of the Rectaflex was relatively high, he saw a market for a less advanced and less expensive model. So, the Junior series, based on the A.1000, was introduced in September 1950.

There was a big leap in serial numbers from the last of the B.4000 series to the next series, called B.16000.* Production started in April/May 1951 and ended in April 1952, the last known sn. being 16862, There were many smaller improvements being introduced with this series, such as a new, more flexible mirror housing, a further improved lens mount, internal matt blackening to avoid damage by any stray light, new film plane plate, improved film transport system. The most visible improvement on the B.16000 series was the third flash socket added to the two sockets from previous models, and the film indicator dial at the top, placed under the rewind knob. The rewind knob could also be lifted, resting in the upper position. Also note that the serial number on the body now followed a B, as on the prism house, not an N as on models up till now.
December 2015 has disclosed a model B.5122. AND B.5124! As these are serial numbers that ha not been mentioned before, as far as I have experienced, this will have to be investigated.
There were also some B.2000 and B.3000 samples for export, marked with 127xx, 128xx, 132xx and 133xx. (See my model B.13255 under B.3000 series.)

Almost parallel to the production of the B. 16000 series, Telemaco Corsi started the production of a test series that was to lead to the 25000 series with a shutter time of 1/1300 a year later. The 20000 B featured above all a new and improved shutter that, in spite of the 1/1000 mark on the shutter time dial, introduced a faster shutter than the previous ones. This test model was produced between June and December '51 in some 250 pieces only, the first serial number being 20101 and the last one somewhere below 20350. Mine has sn. 20292. Marco Antonetto claims the last sn. to be just over 20300, but I have seen as high as 20332.
From this series onwards, the serial number was moved from the top plate and prism house to the left top of the back wall, with the letter B following the serial number.

September 1952 was the start of the most productive period in the life of Rectaflex. The camera had undergone several improvements since the start and was finally at it's best, both in terms of quality and production rate. The 25000 series was the biggest series by production, reaching some 4.500 pieces. As this series turned into the next one, the 30000 series at around sn. 29500, the total production of Rectaflex cameras had been doubled.

The 25000 series introduced a world's fastest shutter at the time by improving it to 1/1300 of a second. This was based on the work done on the test series 20000 B and marked what some call the second main series, the 1300 series consisting of 25000 and 30000 series.
The 25000 series was split in two, the first 550-600 copies with a B after the number, the later without that letter. That was due to the fact that Rectaflex changed to a new supplier of the aluminium alloy body, as they wanted a better quality on the die-casts. However, they still had some old ones in stock, and they were used first. As they soon were finished, the new parts were marked as if it was a new series - for the first time without any letter in the serial number.

The 30 000 series, produced from January 1954 till the company was sold in 1955, was the best built Rectaflex ever. The only visible external difference was the mushroom shape of the shutter release button and the lens release button. But there does not seem to be a distinct serial number introducing this novelty. A sample numbered 29 568 has it, while one numbered 29 680 has the old style.
The 30 000 series was the final Italian produced model. Still, after some eight years of technical and productional improvements, the company was not making money. The bank account was empty, and the owners did not want to pour more money into it. The numbering reached some 31 350, with 31332? as the last known sample.
The producing unit was sold from CISA Viscosa to a swiss company, Carena, and the production was moved to Vaduz, Lichtenstein. But in spite of trying out a new promising model called the 40 000 series, no more than a few hundreds preseries cameras were produced. There were unexpected problems with some light leakage on the cameras, as well as assembling problems. Still, some of the cameras may have been sold. Anyway, remaining samples are more or less regularely offered for sale at very high prices.
So, the Italian 30000 series was the last production series of the proud Rectaflex - The Magic Reflex - world's first series produced pentaprism slr camera.

In addition to the Standard Series, counting all ordinary cameras from A.1000 to 30000, Rectaflex released several special cameras. The Junior of 1950, although built on a standard house, can be counted as a Special model. But there were more:
June 1952 saw the introduction of a camera that had hardly been seen before, and that was never to be seen again: the 3-lens turret operated Rectaflec Rotor. It was, of course, heavy, very expensive, as the already high price of the camera would have to be added to three lenses, and big in volume, especially if one added the rifle stock. But it was much faster to operate under various conditions, with the need to change from wide to tele lens or from standard to wide angle, back and forth. Just turn the turret!
The first samples gathered much interest among photojournalists, and the first series production houses were ready in 1953. Some 50-75 units were built until the company stranded.

The Gold series was a very limited one, given to leaders like Pope Pius XII, King Farouk of Egypt, president Dwight D. Eisenhower of the USA,  Italian president Luigi Einaudi, Francesco Maria Oddasso, president of Viscosa (the owner of Rectaflex), and head of the French distributor Télos, Henri Tieman. Probably also Winston Churchill of Great Britain. According to Marco Antonetto, the serial numbers of the two first, the ones made for the Pope and the King, were S.1.N.2311 and S.2.N.2312. They were made out of remaining A.1000 models still in the factory. The other golden ones were made out of the 25000 series. All, or at least some of them carried much higher serial numbers. Most of these other golden cameras most likely had brass or brass plated Angenieux 50/1,8 lenses. In addition, there was a golden camera on auction in spring 2019 with a 27xxx serial number house and a brass Schneider Xenon lens. It was said to be made for the USA, but it was marked with "Télos Paris" and it was sold from Italy! The seller says it was "not original gilding, but made by a skilled craftsman in a workmanlike manner." So probably not from the original series. It may be an ordinary silver house that has been gilded later. But there are still question marks following this one.
In addition, there was one that was placed on display in the reception hall of the company. This one had serial number 27811, with brass Angenieux 50/1,8 sn. 159765 lens. These are the ones that we know of. There is, however, another golden lens fitted on a non-gold plated house, the ultra rare B. 5122, part of my collection. So, golden/brass lenses for more than those less-than-ten cameras may have been prepared.

There still is some uncertainty about the numbering of these golden series. A reader has contacted me, as he has spoken to Mr. Antonetto after the book "Rectaflex-the Magic Reflex" was released. He claims that the few first of the golden cameras following the ones given to the pope and the king, also had 231x- numbering. When or if one finds one of these cameras once given to these celebrities, we will know the truth. Until then, as this information comes from Marco Antonetto, one will have to assume that this is correct.

As Rectaflex did not produce lenses, they were depending on the cooperation of other companies to be able to deliver complete cameras. But that was certainly no worry; lens producers from many countries soon queued up to deliver high class lenses. They were: Pierre Angenieux Paris, S.O.M. Berthiot, Boyer, H. Rousel Paris and OPL (Foca) of France, Old Delft of Holland, Schneider Kreuznach, Voigtländer, Rodenstock, Kilfitt, Steinheil, Leitz and Schacht of West-Germany, Carl Zeiss Jena of East-Germany, Elgeet Optical of USA and, from Italy itself, Officine Galileo and Filotecnica Salmoiraghi Milano. In addition, the Kilfitt lenses, or some of them, were produced on permission in Lichtenstein by Kamarabau Anstalt AG. And, although not mentioned in Rectaflex literature, there is an english Dallmeyer lens around. It might be a sole sample and therefore a special build. But if Dallmeyer had some regular production for Rectaflex, this brings the numbers even higher. So, at least 17 companies from at least 7 countries were involved in lens making. But of these companies, Angenieux and Schneider were by far the most common. Of the french, I have yet to see a single lens from Boyer, Rousel or OPL. And the same goes for Old Delft and Elgeet. They are all on different Rectaflex lists over available lenses, but may have contributed with only a few, or even none.
As all parts in the Rectaflex system had code names, the standard lenses up to B.16000 series were named STA for Standard, RE for Rectaflex and then a letter for each producer, like A(S) for Angenieux, B for Berthiot and X for the Schneider Kreuznach Xenon.
Among the standard lenses, some 3000 Angenieux 50/1,8 were ordered, some 2000 Angenieux 50/2,9 and some 2000 Schneider Kreuznach Xenon. Still, the Angenieux 1,8 sells at far higher prices today.
After having studied the lenses offered for sale over the last years, there seem to be a  majority of Xenon lenses. 

Wide Angle lenses were produced by P. Angenieux and SOM Berthiot, covering 28 and 35 mm. Berthiot delivered from 1949, but only a 28 mm with an external viewfinder, as the mirror had to be lifted to allow the rear of the lens to enter the camera. From the time Angenieux introduced their Retrofocus lenses they were dominant.

Most of the 17 producers of lenses for Rectaflex delivered normal lenses. But the most common ones were Angenieux with either 50/2,9 or 50/1,8, and Schneider Kreuznach 50/2. Angenieux were delivered from start till finish, the Xenon from B.2000. These lenses make up for some 70% of normal lenses to follow the cameras.

While only Angenieux made usable wide angles, there were quite a few standard lenses to chose from. When talking tele lenses there were many, from 75 to 600 mm. Again, Angenieux delivered some, from 90 to 180mm. (There was also a 75 mm in one pricelist, but that lens was never produced.) Carl Zeiss delivered from 75 up to 300 mm. From there and up only Kilfitt of Munich would deliver. Others were Boyer with Saphir 100/1,9 and SOM Berthiot from 135 to 180mm. From Scacht Ulm there were at least a 135/3,5, from Steinheil München a 135/2,8, and from Meyer Görlitz a 165/3,5.

Heinz Kilfitt invented worlds first macro lens for 35mm format, released in 1955 as Kilfitt Makro Kilar 40/3,5. Mounts were made especially for the brands that did not produce lenses themselves, mostly Exacta, but also for Alpa and Rectaflex. And for the Praktica/Contax/Pentax M42 mount.

Rectaflex aimed at being a system camera, producing all kind of extra equipment for the photographer. Bellows, extension tubes and rings, filters, special lens hoods, adapters for microscopes and more.

Pictures from the factory in the very early 50s.
Almost all information presented about the history of Rectaflex is based on Marco Antonettos fantastic book: "Rectaflex - the Magic Reflex" . Nassa Watch Gallery 2002.

The structure and economy of the company was not as good as the cameras, and they had to end their production in '55, then taken over by a swiss company that moved the production to Vaduz, Lichtenstein. Some 200 prototypes of a new 40000 series were produced there, but no new series production took part until the game was finally over in 1958. During this period, in 1957, some cameras were also produced in the lab in Roma. They were not under Lichtenstein control and were to be sent to the french distributor, had they ever reached series production. I have given the Rectaflex story a time frame between 1948-1955 as it marks the start and the end of series production.

The following is an article, dropped on facebook!, based on the very detailed book: Rectaflex - The Magic Reflex, by Marco Antonetto of 2002. Its a google translate, with all the fun it brings: you can read about prices like 65.000 pounds when the author speaks lire. And it says "car" when "macchina", camera, is the word. The founder, Telemaco Corsi, is sometimes called course or Courses. And so on. But it gives some very interesting details about the development of the Rectaflex in 1948.

At the Milan Fair in May 1948 finally appears Rectaflex the Standard Model 47 fully functional. Courses needs to take a lot of orders to support the program Rectaflex, and finally convince the Board of Directors of the CISA Viscose to allocate the money necessary for the transformation of plant SARA and for the recruitment of qualified personnel.
The machine is equipped with the prism of Rectaflex monolithic sloping roof for proper vision right-left; has the tagliapellicola and still does not provide the rewinding of the film. The mirror is free from vibration, and is almost instantaneous return as it is pushed by springs but accompanied by the lever of the shutter button and falls with the release of the button. The mechanism of this is slow and it is very similar to the delay with lever escapement mounted on rubies. In Stand Rectaflex is also exposed a machine immersed in a glass bowl full of water, demonstrating the strength of the materials that compose it. At the booth Rectaflex there is a beautiful small eight-page, where it appears for the first time the slogan Rectaflex, the SLR magic and logo with Saturn. On the occasion of the 26th Fiera di Milano also appears in the first price list information, which is marked in May 1948. The camera body is called STARE and costs Pounds 65,000. The book can be with different optics: Angenieux 75, 90 and 135 mm; Berthiot 135, 145 and 180 mm and the resplendent Boyer 1:1.9 / 100 mm. Undeniably, for his Rectaflex, Courses wanted the objectives of the Leitz Wetzlar but the house would never have granted its optics, such as Ferrari does not grant its engines to opposing teams: the Rectaflex is a real competitor, which overlooks the market with an even more attractive of the small Leica.The accessories that enrich the kit include: Leather Case Ready (5,000 pounds), the color filters in boxes of 10 (45,000 pounds) and others. The Pavilion Photography Optics-counts, alone, over seventy exhibitors. Among the most visited areas we are willing to stand quadrilateral Ducati, that of Ferrania, the Cattaneo (Rollei and Leitz) and Meccanoptica (Zeiss-Jena). Among the exhibitors there are Fototecnica of Turin (Herman with the 24x36 Rangefinder and Bandi, box 6x9, from the front and the colored box integrated in the body); Ferrania (with Condor and Falcon) Ducati (the Dream); Boniforti and Ballerio (Perseus with the 24x34), the Kristall (with Lux ISO). The Gamma Officine Precision exposes the Gamma II and III with Bayonet Lens Mount and optical Angenieux. Finally, the stand of the Filotecnica-Salmoiraghi seems that there has been, placed under the counter, a 24x36 with reflex viewing prism. Her you will not have as a result of news. A miracle from Rome ... Progress in the photo appears in a large service in May, written by journalist George Balabani, who, with typical style of the 40s illustrates and enhances the product. The service is called The Miracle Rectaflex, subtitled "The miracle from Rome. We propose a few excerpts. As the Commissioners of the Pavilion Photography Optics-we received many congratulations for not having exaggerated exaltation of the new standard, which makes Rectaflex's car today and tomorrow, the aristocratic class of its own. This is a reflex at eye level, with focus on frosted glass to zoom in, checked to come from a brilliant range finder, which can not know because faults incorporated into the prism receiving the image. Also working vertically, that is, when the unit is upside down, the image is always upright, with the right that is to the right, left what is left. The characters will be read normally. There you come and say that this particular relative interest, since in the frame is good to see things as they really are: both in groups and in the composition of still lifes or other sports scenes in particular, since it is easier to follow a car in its true direction in reverse ... The new rangefinder that works integral with the prism, and is called stigmometro (from the greek stigma = sign, point, stigma) is constituted by a tiny cylindrical lens which has the characteristic feature of deforming the image when it is not perfectly in focus, any is the focal length of the lens used, and at all distances.The split screen, which guarantees the math finally focus at any distance with any focal length, is covered by patents worldwide, marking it a real discovery in the vast domain of photography. No one had thought of before! The optics, it is not even ready the Italian one, is completely French. Angenieux in all its editions F: 2.9 5 cm F: 1.1 5 cm in series.&nbsp;</span><span title="Alla Fiera di Milano del maggio 1948 appare finalmente la Rectaflex Mod. Standard 47 completamente funzionante.">In the list we also find the Angenieux 10 cm up, as well as the classics Berthiot from 1 .1.5 3.5 from 55 mm to 35 mm, and - on request - the famous Boyer Saphir 1.1,4 10 cm. The slow motion of time, so much admired by the meticulous Swiss engineers, and mounted on non-synthetic rubies, is a jewel of modern and reliable watches. The optical part of reflection is monolithic (patent Rectaflex). That is insensitive to moisture, shock, heat. The entire interior is anodized, that is unalterably. Reveal and ribbons in processed rubber fabric and pure silk, insensitive to light because sheltered from the reflex system. Bushings bronze gears reported on the mass. All parts of duralumin are treated so as to be insensitive to moisture, weathering, and a surface hardness equal to that of corundum. List with all spare parts, photographed and numbered in the event of an accident. The Rectaflex is delivered to the customer sealed inside a luxurious Plexiglas hood which was to become an ornament for cigarettes or playing cards ... Match won!  
The construction of the factory.
After the Fiera di Milano, with many orders in the portfolio - it seems to be at least 300 only for the Italian market - and with interesting open negotiations with some foreign traders, begins the real phase of the productive organization of the Rectaflex. Corsi went to the extraordinary meeting of the Board of Directors of the CISA, and the preliminary contracts from foreign distributors in hand. It comes with the assurance of an appropriation very conspicuous Refers to 300,000,000 lire, for the construction of the new area at the SARA, and to finally begin mass production. In June of 1948, meanwhile, comes a second eight-page brochure entitled Rectaflex, the SLR magic. Annex brochure you will find the list n.2, in which are presented the same items of the first order, but, for the most part, be increased by about 15% in the price. In the early autumn of 1948 will begin the construction of the wing intended completely to Rectaflex, by raising a portion of the existing premises. Is erected a new four-storey building, in the typical architectural footprint adherent post-fascist, structured in a very practical way, in the manner of Walter Gropius, with wide stairs to the upper floors, large rooms open-space which receive light large windows facing east. The new building, yellow ocher, is painted the great written Rectaflex, brick-red.The services and the canteen are also completely new and modern. The factory is not delivered completely alone in these places: some departments may be less important or less clean, such as electroplating, painting and the Warehouse, are housed in adjacent buildings. The offices and environments drafters intended to occupy the central building, along or adjacent to those of SARA. It then goes on to commission the equipment - lathes, milling machines, presses, pantographs, all equipment sophisticated for its time! For the construction of the appliance. Changing corporate structure and moves forward with the plan of recruitment. The registered office leaves via Barnaba Oriani and moved to Via delle Muratte at number 43 (premises owned by the CISA Viscose) and the name becomes Soc Rectaflex Srl In this way Corsi comes off more and more from the previous activities of SARA and undertakes the manufacture of the new camera. From the books of the Company Rectaflex, and precisely from the records of the staff of the Assembly Department Rectaflex Officine SARA, it is found that the company carries out the recruitment of staff to the first half of 1948, which increased in the autumn of the same year, in line with the launch of production. The workers are trained by the Heads-editors, which are now the handyman, Fraiegari, Judicone and unoccupied. At the end of December are 12 mechanical fitters, all specialists in fine mechanics, the most coming from Officine Navali di La Spezia and the Laboratory of Precision Italian Army. Among the staff employed there are also some women, because of their natural attitude to manual work of precision.
The first sales.
The first Rectaflex, assembled by mechanics under the watchful guidance of department heads and Fraiegari Judicone, leaving the new company and go abroad, to feed as much as possible the first demands of the distributors. Probably the first foreign distributor is the Director Products Co. of New York is added immediately after the Exclusivité Thelos Henry Tieman for France. In addition, other trade agreements, some partially successful, others aborted in the bud, are made in Switzerland (Eschmann of Lausanne), South America (Optica Beri, Caracas), Australia (Puccini) and South Africa. The Rectaflex intended for export are marked with special symbols, burdened on the black plate that covers the internal delay, for the United States is engraved Exp N. 1 and for France Exp S. Progress Photo announces, in the October 1948: "The Rectaflex is already on sale abroad alone for the moment, and Italy are the lucky few who are already in possession of the car." It seems that there are almost practically delivered cars this year in Italy. A strange trade policy that undertaken by the company. The fact is that the marketing department, which depends marginally from classes, already has orders in hand (or promises) with different foreign distributors and want to honor them, even for introitare currency. Neglecting the Italian market, thinking of dealing then through a network of sellers when the assembly line will work at full capacity, is perhaps a fatal error that will be later on, when the domestic market will not respond as expected precisely because of a neglected penetration. Telemachus course does not hide its aims: to produce a technical object with the same quality and excellence of a German equivalent. The goal of course is identified with the Leitz and Zeiss. This continuous search for technical perfection, also made of simple construction, the door - plus in the first person - day after day to experiment with new solutions and to make new changes on the equipment during assembly. The everything slows down, however, the construction which is always fragmented by continuous modifications and rearrangements and grow at a phenomenal machining costs. The different changes (or variations) can be born and die during the production of a contract, and are not necessarily present in the devices manufactured later. The parts that undergo more changes, in those early years, are precisely the prism, the back and the body made of aluminum alloy. A few changes are subject to the apparatus of the tendon and perhaps none of the retarder slow. No apparent change seems to involve the external structure of the Rectaflex. Several are in the first period, the Rectaflex who returned to the factory to be re-checked and modified, and many are the machines that do not then passing the final test, they remain in warehouses.
The Mille.
With the return to work after the summer holidays of 1948 starts the production itself, with a new series, called A.1000. Factory is still in the temporary premises of SARA, not yet completed the new wing. The first of the series Rectaflex A.1000 are still without the split screen, and have in fact frosted glass completely smooth. The device appears after about 200-300 machines produced. This machine series A.1000 - the serial number that starts from number 1001 - has the look of Standard 947, with its tagliapellicola, the cap of the prism shape similar to the previous, only less pronounced. The prism has all the flat faces. The group of the body, housed in die-anodized aluminum, is composed of four main parts, which are assembled together during the various stages of assembly: the body itself, the castle that contains the prism and the mirror, the front plane that with opening the lens and the back of which is an integral part of the case back. The attack of the flash is two holes with wide chrome outer edges, as usual in those years, and can be used with the Vacu-blitz (that kind of flash that uses incandescent bulbs called flash bulb). The mechanism that controls the timing lenses, mounted on rubies from watchmaking, is now an improved version of the original 947's. The series A.1000, being the most experimental of all, it has several changes and others are made in the years to come when you will be transformed into Rectaflex Junior. This first series is produced at least up to the number A.2127 (last known number). The series A.1000 opens a characteristic that remains current for all the first devices Rectaflex: the internal numbering of all the main components, including the prism. In fact each of these components is stamped (or etched awl, depending on the piece) the serial number of the device as to the holes on the body are used as masks, the various external parts (castle, frontal, caps, back, etc..) and then make that single device. At the beginning of the commercialization of Rectaflex, the Company expects that any repair the unit can be carried out by local fotoriparatori - an idea which unfortunately does not reveal exact, because of the complexity and the diversity of construction compared to normal other machines on the market - for which is provided for a whole series of replacement parts for each individual device. This would allow to send to the repairer of Turin or the Palermo this component for this device that has the same serial number. In the autumn of 1948 appears in the list n.3, virtually unchanged from the previous year. The Rectaflex Via Monte of the Goats, 23 (district Trullo, Rome)

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Top of page: Rectaflex: 1948-1955 
 
Early history: PP SLR: 1948-1954, 
                     The Origin:

Duflex: 1948-1950
Contax S: 1949-1962
Alpa: 1949-1978