In your bag No: 1235, John L. Jaeggli
Today we don’t have a readers bag, but his grandfathers bag! Jacob shares with us the bag that his grandfather carried around Europe in the years after WWII. There is also a fascinating story of a camera taken during the war and returned. I just wish there were some images too…

This is not my bag, but the bag of my grandfather, John L. Jaeggli. Around 1952 he lived in Marlotte, France, and and was a consultant for Allied Forces Central Europe, where among other things he designed plans for darkrooms which were transportable by trailer. These are cameras which I believe he acquired during this time.

The bag itself appears to be a a reconstructed military satchel, and has pockets and a soft flannel pad sewn into the inside.

The contents of the bag are as follows:

Zeiss Ikon Ikonta with a Compur Rapid shutter and Tessar 105 mm f 3.5 lens
Zeiss Ikon Contaflex with Tessar 45 mm f 2.8 lens

Lenses for Zeiss Contaflex

Norwood Director Model C Light Meter
Weston Photoronic Exposure Meter Model 650

Kodak pneumatic self timer
Kodapod tripod mount

Of possible interest to JCH, my grandfather was on board the SS Malama when it was captured in 1942 by the Hokoku Maru. His camera was confiscated, but apparently followed him through Shanghai, China and Korea, and finally through to a mining camp in Hokkaido where it was discovered and returned when the camp was abandoned in 1945. I don’t know specifically which camera it was, but not one which is part of this bag.

Many thanks for sharing your grandfathers bag with us, John. This is absolutely fascinating to see what they were working with then. Are there any images available to see? I am sure the readers would love to see them.
Please make sure you come and comment.

Keep them coming folks, we need more submissions, so get your bag on Japancamerahunter.com.

Send me a hi resolution image of the bag. Optimum size is 1500 across. Please ensure there is a bag in the shot, unless you don’t use one. The more you can write about yourself the better, make it appealing and tell us a story.

Oh and don’t forget your contact details (twitter, flickr, tumbler et al). Send the bag shots here. Please understand that there is a long wait now as there is a backlog of submissions. Not all make the cut, so make sure yours is funny/interesting/quirky. And please make sure the shot is of good quality, as the ones that are not do not go up.

Cheers
Japancamerahunter