[W&B] RD Gray - Optician and lens maker

[Marcel Safier]

Milan

OK, I may live in Australia but I have risen to the challenge to help to
find more about Robert D. Gray. It is amazing what can be done sitting
at home and using Google and ancestry.com for an hour!

For a start he was a somewhat prolific patent applicant:

http://www.google.com/patents?id=KgdVAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&d
q=%22robert+d+gray%22#PPP3,M1 filed 1885

http://www.google.com/patents?id=cB5yAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&d
q=robert+d+gray#PPA3,M1 filed 1886

http://www.google.com/patents?id=LMtrAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&d
q=%22robert+d+gray%22#PPA11,M1 filed 1895

http://www.google.com/patents?id=Zr9bAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&d
q=robert+d+gray#PPA5,M1 filed 1899

http://www.google.com/patents?id=brxrAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&d
q=%22robert+d+gray%22 filed 1911

http://www.google.com/patents?id=aG1nAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&d
q=%22robert+d+gray%22 filed 1914

http://www.google.com/patents?id=-RlNAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&d
q=%22robert+d+gray%22 filed 1917

http://www.google.com/patents?id=IrNLAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&d
q=%22robert+d+gray%22 filed 1921

http://www.google.com/patents?id=ltlEAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&d
q=%22robert+d+gray%22 filed 1921

Referring to the censuses (which I can forward the full record to anyone
directly if they like):

1860 Robert D. Gray, Barkley, Jasper, Indiana
1870 Robert Gray, Union, Montgomery, Indiana
1880 R. D. Gray, Crawfordsville, Montgomery, Indiana
1890 no census records survive
1900 not found
1910 Midland, Bergen, NJ "optician"
1920 Robert D. Gray, Manhattan, New York, NY, "shop"

New York City Directory, 1890
Gray Robert D. lenses, 259 W. 27th, h 260 W. 43d 

I am sure a more thorough trawl of the directories will help flesh out
his career but I don't have ready access to them so leave that to
someone else. 

Cheers!

Marcel
--
Marcel Safier (Photographic Historian)
PO Box 239
Holland Park 4121
Queensland Australia
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~msafier/index.html 


> -----Original Message-----
> From: woodandbrass-bounces at kjsl.com 
> [mailto:woodandbrass-bounces at kjsl.com] On Behalf Of Milan Zahorcak
> Sent: Tuesday, 12 June 2007 2:56 PM
> To: 'Collectors of 19th Century Cameras &Photographica'
> Subject: RE: [W&B] US Optical Company / RD Gray ???
> 
> 
> 
> It is the oddest thing . . . you'd think there ought to be 
> something out there on RD Gray, or Robert D. Gray.
> 
> We all know he was involved with the Gray/Stirn camera . . . 
> and that's about all I can find.
> 
> Yet I own had a bunch of his lenses - all having "Periscope" 
> in the name - and  I know a couple of other collectors who 
> have a bunch of his lenses, and they show up on eBay often 
> enough to guess that he made quite a few.  My guess would be 
> 1890s through 1920 or so, since you find them on Wollensak 
> shutters every now and then.
> 
> So, who were the big photo supply houses in the early 1900s?  
> He's got to appear in some general catalog.
> 
> OH! and RD Gray made the Marvel shutter:
> 
> http://www.pacificrimcamera.com/milanpub/Misc-pics/Gray_Marvel.jpg
> 
> The ad claims that he was an "optician" in New York.
> 
> But no matter what combination I search for, I come up with 
> the same 3 or 4 Stirn references and that's it.  Gotta be 
> more out there.  What am I doing wrong?
> 
> And that damned catalog continues to elude me!
> 
> I'm now in the middle of searching for US Optical . . . and 
> getting no where fast.
> 
> Grumble,
> 
> mz
 

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