1756-1839
The Voigtländer family workshop developed from Vienna precision instruments into optical work; Peter Wilhelm Friedrich took charge in 1837 and the business used Voigtländer & Sohn from 1839.
Voigtländer
8 researched events, 1756 to present. Each is dated as its sources date it and carries the references it rests on.
Read the Voigtländer company history →
1850–1875 · 26 years with no research point
1915–1919 · 5 years with no research point
1940–1944 · 5 years with no research point
1990–1998 · 9 years with no research point
1840-1849
Voigtländer manufactured Petzval's mathematically calculated portrait lens and an all-metal daguerreotype camera, then opened the Braunschweig factory in 1849 as demand expanded.
1876-1914
Family succession in 1876 and conversion to a public company in 1898 preceded a wide catalog of photographic lenses, cells, shutters, and camera-related optical products.
Peter Wilhelm Friedrich Ritter von Voigtländer · Voigtlander 1914 US Product Catalog
1920s-1939
The range included plate, roll-film, stereo, reflex, and folding cameras. Bessa, Brillant, Superb and related families appeared with multiple lens-and-shutter configurations.
Dated in the sources as “1920s-1939”. Mixed decade and year wording normalized for scaling.
1945-1955
Postwar Braunschweig production resumed with coatings and renewed large-format optics, while Bessa, Perkeo, Vito, Vitessa and Prominent families shaped the camera program.
Voigtlander 1954-55 Product Catalog W3267 E O/354 · Voigtländer LF lenses from 1947-1972 - a slightly different approach/breed
1956-1972
Under Carl Zeiss control and Zeiss Ikon coordination, Voigtländer developed leaf-shutter SLR systems and continued large-format lens production. Camera production in Braunschweig ended in 1971 and the last recorded large-format batch followed in April 1972.
Voigtlander Confidential Price List (Effective May 15, 1965) · Voigtländer LF lenses from 1947-1972 - a slightly different approach/breed
1970s-1980s
Rollei control moved the name onto Singapore-made SLR, compact, and 110-format products. These are part of the brand lineage but require model-level manufacturing attribution.
Dated in the sources as “1970s-1980s”. Decade wording normalized to its full calendar span for scaling.
VOIGTLANDER English top page and product catalog · Impressum
1999–present
Cosina revived photographic products under the Voigtländer mark in 1999, beginning with the Bessa-L and 15mm f/4.5, and now designs and manufactures multiple modern mount families.
Introduction: the makers of the APO-LANTHAR 50mm F2 · VOIGTLANDER English top page and product catalog · Impressum · Voigtlander Bessa R Instruction Book