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In 1945 the occupying American forces took the fabulous Zeiss lens collection from Jena to the United States. This was a unique collection of historic Zeiss lenses, specially significant lenses by other manufacturers, and, most importantly, a complete set of Zeiss prototype, sample and test lenses, together with the accompanying documentation. The collection was carefully kept for a time, having been studied by Kaprelian and Merté, but in the 1960s it was sold off piecemeal through Burke and James and other traders, and the surviving lenses now lie dispersed throughout numerous collections, mainly in the United States. One collector who appears to have bought a large number of these lenses was Burleigh Brooks, whose collection, including a number of rare and significant prototypes which were almost certainly part of the dispersed Zeiss lens collection. This lens came from that collection. 6cm f3.5 Tessar, like those made for the 4x4 Baby Rolleflex, in a sunk barrel mount. According to the Zeiss production data published by Hartmut Thiele (Fabrikationsbuch Photooptik Carl Zeiss Jena, 2003, p. 246), this lens (serial number 1240000) is a single specimen, produced as a production run of one in February 1931. It is very likely that it was a test lens. Calculations for the 6cm f3.5 Tessar were concluded on August 21, 1930. One lens was produced on 26 August. In October two production runs, total 3000 lenses, were made for the Rolleiflex 4x4. Then on February 10, 1931 this lens (nº 1240000) was produced as a single specimen. As it is in a sunk barrel mount, it was presumably intended for bench testing. Possibly as a result of these tests, the 6cm f3.5 Tessar was recomputed in February 1931, and a further 7000 recomputed lenses (plus a third – recomputed - test lens) were made in 1931-32 and issued with the Rolleflex 4x4. This particular lens's production card is in card set nº 44, which, as Thiele's documentation shows, was reserved for research, test and sample lenses (marked Versuchs, Muster, or produced in runs of one, two or three) made between 1930 and 1937. It is M- condition, only very very faint coating spot on rear element.
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