Ihagee Kamerawerk G.m.b.H.
founded 1912
In April 1912, Johan Steenbergen, a Dutchman, founded the Industrie- und Handelsgesellschaft G.m.b.H. Kamerafabrik mit Kraftbetrieb (Industry and Trade
Company Ltd. Camera Factory with Power Drive) in Dresden at the address Marcolinistrasse 8, Dresden-A.5.
The company name was shorted to Ihagee Kamerawerk G.m.b.H., taking advantage of the German pronounciation of the original names' initials--IHG--as "eehahgay."
After World War II, the company, which was still of Dutch ownership, found itself in the Soviet Occupation Zone. Contrary to German-owned companies, Ihagee remained a private company, administered by the State. It continued to produce and develop well-reputed cameras in the 1950s and 1960s. During that period, a competing company, Ihagee-West was set up in the Federal Republic but it failed to produce good quality cameras.
During the 1960s in East Germany, Ihagee was increasingly integrated to the Pentacon conglomerate, leading to the creation of VEB Pentacon.
The company's best known product was the Exakta camera.
Company Ltd. Camera Factory with Power Drive) in Dresden at the address Marcolinistrasse 8, Dresden-A.5.
The company name was shorted to Ihagee Kamerawerk G.m.b.H., taking advantage of the German pronounciation of the original names' initials--IHG--as "eehahgay."
After World War II, the company, which was still of Dutch ownership, found itself in the Soviet Occupation Zone. Contrary to German-owned companies, Ihagee remained a private company, administered by the State. It continued to produce and develop well-reputed cameras in the 1950s and 1960s. During that period, a competing company, Ihagee-West was set up in the Federal Republic but it failed to produce good quality cameras.
During the 1960s in East Germany, Ihagee was increasingly integrated to the Pentacon conglomerate, leading to the creation of VEB Pentacon.
The company's best known product was the Exakta camera.
Hugo D. Ruys, "IHAGEE: Its History until 1945," corrected translation of the original Dutch version published in 1984 in <i>Photohistorisch Tijdschrift</i> is online <a href="http://www.ihagee.org/exagese1.pdf " target="_blank">here</a>, with more images on the following <a href="http://www.ihagee.org/exagese2.pdf" target="_blank">website</a>.
For a detailed history of this company, see "Ihagee-Kamerawerk Dresden," Dresdner-kameras.de (German) http://www.dresdner-kameras.de/ihagee_exakta/ihagee_exakta.html (accessed 01/09/2015)