Last week we shared with you a snippet of the sales card for Bell & Howell 2709 #58, a camera that we are currently researching. In further examining the sales cards from the same time period, we see the line item “Doz. Mag Spools” several times. The “D” at the beginning of “Doz.” strongly resembles the first letter in the name of the purchaser of our camera, which we believe to be a Dr. Thomas. (You can also see an example of a capital “A” that looks like it was written by the same hand, as there was some thought about #58 saying “Ari” rather than “Dr.”) In addition to this, the camera also has an old sticker on it that reads “Robert Koch – A Great TB Fighter – Lederle Health Services”. From what we have learned so far, Robert Koch was a German physician and microbiologist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his research on Tuberculosis. Ernst Lederle, founder of Lederle Laboratories served twice as the New York City Health Commissioner at the turn of the 20th century. While serving as Health Commissioner, he implemented a forced smallpox vaccination program and opened a hospital for Tuberculosis patients. He established Lederle Laboratories in 1904, and moved his lab to Pearl River, New York in 1907. While Ernst Lederle severed ties with Lederle Labs in 1910, the campus continued as a medical research facility well into the 21st century. Our research is ongoing.
