Couldn't find anything on it age-wise in the accessories page, but maybe that's because it's from Kalart and not Graflex. Anyone have an idea of years of manufacture?

jeff

There seem to be a lot of rumors that they began during the war - something about focusing inside bombers or something. I thought they were made for night photography, e.g. nightclub shots, etc. Heiland made them early on too, I believe. The "modern" units [with 2 male prongs] seem to have been made later, since the Graflite units were also later and they had the hot plug to furnish power.

Looks like Kalart started in 1946.

<A HREF=http://yosemite.epa.gov/r1/npl_pad.nsf/8b160ae5c647980585256bba0066f907/2056ea7edd5c6e3b85256b4200605f1e?OpenDocument>Here's some history from the EPA</A>

Dave

Kalart must have existed in some form or another prior to 1946, since I have seen (and own in parts) several very early reach-around rangehinders (the sort that had an arm that fit between the dclosed drop bed and the edge of the camera, not the kind that needed a hole drilled in the body for the arm... and speaking of which, I may need help mounting/calibrating one at some point). The company perhaps moved to that space, or else company records were lost for 1946 and earlier.

jeff