Subject: ACG articles from the 1950s
                                    From: sterritt@helios.paradigmtech.com (Phillip Sterritt)
                                    X-Actually-From: ""
                                    Date: Tue, 3 Jun 1997 09:24:28 -0600
                                    
                                    I recently acquired copies of Popular Photography and Modern
                                    Photography from 1955, and a copy of U.S.  Camera from 1957.  All 3
                                    magazines were subtitled '35mm Issue'.
                                    
                                    All the magazines' underlying message was the same:  only the
                                    'serious' import 35s (Leica, Nikon, Contax, Canon, etc) were worthy of
                                    consideration as 'serious' 35mm cameras.  Popular Photography seemed
                                    to be the most 'elitist' of the group;  Argus didn't even run an ad in
                                    that issue.  Modern Photo took a more democratic attitude, including a
                                    section on 'Cameras under $100.00' and another on how to take good
                                    pictures with an under-$50.00 camera.  The C-3 and C-4 were listed in
                                    the former article, the A-4 in the latter.  Comparing the features and
                                    the prices in these articles, it was evident that many of the imports
                                    offered much more 'bang for the buck' than the American cameras.  U.S.
                                    Camera featured the C-3 and C-44 in an article about interchangeable
                                    lens cameras, and even stated that Argus was a 'pioneer' in the
                                    use of interchangeable lenses!
                                    
                                       There was a Spiratone ad that featured supplementary tele and
                                    wideangle lenses for the C-3, as well as another company selling the
                                    same thing but with no mention of brand.  Another company, Broadway
                                    Cameras, sold supplementary tele and wideangle lenses for just about
                                    every 35 ever made, including Argus A, AA, K, and Model 21.
                                    
                                       The ad that really caught my eye was one for a 'Reflex Housing and
                                    Bellows' for the C-3!  That item has vaulted to the top of my want
                                    list for Argus accessories.