Who would have expected that with such a lesser speedy lens with a more modern look, right? Well, still waters run deep, don't judge a book by its cover and have your cup half empty or completely empty like me, or as those Nepali monks who bend spoons at will say. Well, enough of the wisdom - the advantage is that nobody gives a flying fuck about these Wollensak series, so you don't have to fight endless queues of interested people and sell houses and children in your quest to acquire them. The downside is that they're as rare as hen's teeth anyway and I've never seen a second specimen, so it's a total nonsense anyway.

• The data is not easy to find, but I rolled up my sleeves and dug into the depths of the dark web: it is a Series IV No.5, 12" focal length, later corrected to 11.875", or 302mm. Production was briefly between 1947-1951, the revised piece even only from 1949 - so the appearance of modernity is quite deceptive.
• At first glance, it is a Series Ia, but neither the focal points nor the arrangement of the cells match. The Ia is a triple-convertible double protar, the successor to the Velostigmat Ia, while the Series IV is a more affordable f6.3 version of the Tessar Series II, the successor to the Velostigmat Series IV. Fascinating!!
• Most of these Wollensak's lying around are shorter focal lengths, often used as cine lenses, for copying or enlarging purposes (Enlarging Raptar, Tasope etc.), so getting a longer one for regular large format photography is quite a hassle. One indicator, such as here, may be the presence of a "W" hidden in the "C" on the front rim, which stood for "WOCOTED" - advanced Wollensak anti-reflective coating - which makes the lens surface bluish and, in the right light and angle, rigidly sexy.
  

In tandem with the sensual anti-reflective layers, there is also a unusual chrome brass finish that is sure to awaken unseemly passions in many a photographer. What's more, it's a very light and compact lens, ideal for the outdoor use for example. The always-carry-on-lens indeed!