Vintage Lighting Need a trade a light for museum accuracy

ship

Senior Team Emeritus
Premium Member
Mentioned before having seen 360 series radial Altman 4.5x6.5 Leko’s in a theater soon to be working at. (never seen them before - but did see pictures from Hub of such a concept.) About two weeks later, I was re-arranging my light parts bone yard and I saw this collected up from a past parts buy. Think out of the Atheneum (c.1911) in Chicago - got a lot of parts out of there with interesting results and even fixtures built out of them. During the 50's I suspect when this mystery LEKO lens train with a step lens was invented, Clyde Foster was running the place and he had a lot of lights. Too bad he died a number of years before a lot of questions came up.

Problem is, none of the old 1950's LEKO’s I got from that theater are 360 like in series. They probably have them in first generation Altman Leko or Hub or in theory another brand with the same style of 6" lens train attachment at the theater but management changes have left me out of touch with them.

Noted in the photo is a 4.5" lens train which will fit on a 360 series Leko. Main difference is that the mounting screws for the lens train are in line with the screws mounting the gate assembly. Hub and Altman both are 45 degrees opposed in this separate mounting as per the photos. Also the focus knob is a female knob different as seen.

Checked my Leko collection - nothing is both texture black, parallel mounting, much less the same knob. So far as I can tell, there is no Leko’s in collection similar in brand.

Next choice... I have five about to be fully restored 6x9 Altman 360 series Leko’s just about done. The shutters were within tolerance enough to only have to replace one full set of them on the last fixture (the one currently with the 4.5" lens train in the photo - but will get it's 6x9 lens train back for working.) This fixture was also missing a reflector so I added it, and gate reflectors to all fixtures. All have gobo slots so probably in the 1974 era. Fixture #5 also has new lenses - the others broke.

All five fixtures are in the works to fully restored and better - as photos show, from rust to resurfaced gate assembly and coated with a few coats of ht. paint or a PTFE spray. Dislike graphite - it retains heat.

Four fixtures I was intending to send to a local JHS without lights, but negotiable in making a future lighting package up to them. The one if best back to 6x9 again, new reflector, gate reflector, shutters, lenses and upgraded modern standards for upgrading everything.

Anyone out there with a hammertone black Leko with mounting screws for the lens train which align to the mounting screws to the gate assembly? Will look like a 360 radial fixture, but probably have different cooling holes and lamp cap design. Any lens train size. PM if willing to trade a perfect or a few in perfect condition for what ever condition lights you might have. I have the ability to make any lens train size for trade. Assuming a new brand of fixtures for the collection, might be interested in a few lens train size fixtures for adequate example.

Sorry to take up time on the lighting part of the forum instead of the sales part of the forum but this is different I feel - not something most are looking to sell but instead replace, or wouldn’t normally look into the sales part for in upgrade. And the question of what brand of Leko is this I have a 4.5x6.5 step lens train for? Seen the Altman version of the small snout 4.5" lens assembly, it’s a lens train and so should be the Hub version than. History of who did this style of lens train - with a step lens in the 50's than answers history. Actual lens markings on the 4.5" lens says Pyrex, 4.7/16" Diamater, 2.1/2x6.1/2 Focal Length, Conza.
 

Attachments

  • 4.5q6.5 a.jpg
    4.5q6.5 a.jpg
    360.2 KB · Views: 205
  • 4.5q6.5 b.jpg
    4.5q6.5 b.jpg
    450.2 KB · Views: 216
  • 4.5q6.5 c.jpg
    4.5q6.5 c.jpg
    448.1 KB · Views: 196
  • 4.5q6.5 d.jpg
    4.5q6.5 d.jpg
    336.2 KB · Views: 208
  • 4.5q6.5 e.jpg
    4.5q6.5 e.jpg
    454.4 KB · Views: 202
  • 4.5q6.5 f.jpg
    4.5q6.5 f.jpg
    287.1 KB · Views: 191
Last edited:

Users who are viewing this thread

Back