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Dear Colleagues,



I received an unexpected phone call from a woman, Heidi Nerwin Bonneau, who wanted to know more about her father's work.  If anyone has any information, please contact her directly:  [log in to unmask]  



Thank you in advance for your interest!



Please excuse the cross-postings....



Dear Karen:



Thank you for speaking with me today. I am on a quest to determine whether information exists about the camera my father designed for the US Army in 1947.



My father, an Austrian Mechanical Engineer, was pursued by the U.S. Government as one of the engineers �to be acquired� through "Operation Paperclip."



He was on the same ship as Wernher Von Braun and other (literally) rocket scientists, sometime in 1947.



My mother and two brothers stayed behind in Austria until my father could accomplish this task: build a combat camera for the military that would facilitate reconnaissance photography.



My father described his camera invention as having a �stylet-style� vertical wand with a blade-tip at the bottom, so that if an enemy approached, the photographer could raise this stylet, sever the already-exposed film, and the tension would produce a rapid furling of that film into a secure inner container.



Then, the second aspect was a quick-release expulsion button on the top of the camera, over the silo-housing of the exposed film, and when the button was pushed, the securely protected exposed film would eject from the bottom, safely encased, and could be given to a �runner� or other method to protect and rescue the exposed film from enemy hands.



I recall the camera having a name like Gulliver�.but nothing pops up when I try an online search.



At the time of WWII, my father was employed by Zeiss-Icon, as Chief Designer. His contributions to the camera world are many, and I encourage you to visit the Zeiss Historical Society�s site and search for Hubert Nerwin.



Following his successful achievement of this combat camera, my mother and two brothers came over from Germany by trans-Atlantic ship, arriving early fall, 1948.



I do recall my father having a commitment to Graflex, on another military contract, about which I know nothing. Perhaps that�s why we settled in Rochester, NY, but I don�t know.



He then worked for Kodak until his retirement in 1971. His contribution to Kodak photography and cameras was the Instamatic camera. His quest was to put photography in everyone�s hands, by having a simple

film cartridge to plop into the back of the camera, shut the door, and you�re ready to go. While not the best quality photos could be taken, they were certainly clear enough to make most families pretty happy.



I helped him proofread his patent application for that cartridge, which also included his future design, the Pocket-Instamatic camera.



In summary, I wish to pursue any further information that may exist about my father having been commissioned to design a combat camera, where he lived during that 11-month period, what the name of the camera was,

how Graflex, as an assignment, entered the equation and for what project(s).  And, of course, anything else you may have.



My father passed away many years ago (1983) at age 77, and the only information we have is from Zeiss.



I greatly appreciate everyone�s time and help in this endeavor.  As I told Karen, who so graciously took my call, The U.S. Government�s "Operation Paperclip" changed our lives. Moving to the USA, starting a whole new life,

and then having a child born in America ( that would be me), has made for interesting cocktail party conversation.



Thank you all for any help you can muster!



Most sincerely and enthusiastically,



Heidi Nerwin Bonneau