History: Probably everyone knows the famous Taylor Taylor & Hobson Cooke knuckler portrait lens, its one of the most sought after lenses out there, scoring fantastic prices. But only a few know this very interesting fellow, the Bausch & Lomb portrait Unar is probably B&Ls answer on the Cooke portrait lens. It is quite similar in some details, though not in all. The lens layout features four air spaced elements, so one more then the Cooke Triplet. Wide open and on its sharp position, the Unar offers fantastic sharpness and contrasts. While beeing moved to the most soft position the image will still be sharp, but the edges of objects/subjects will have a softer appearance, this mechanism works very similar to the Cooke Portrait lens.

The catalouges stated that this was one of the best portrait lenses out there.

The fact that the Portrait Unar is quite a rare find nowadays, this makes it not only a fantasting users lens, but also a nice collectible item. Take a look at the market, there are not really many, if any, portrait Unars available. And most of those that are either lack glass elements or the aperture. This specimen is complete and works perfectly.

With its focal lenght of 380mm (14 3/4") and the wide open aperture of F4.5 it will work nicely for 8x10 up to 11x14 formats.

Condition: the condition is very good here! The protective golden laquere is mostly still intact. It is said that one of the weak points of the lens was its aperture, which did break easily and was often removed. This specimens aperture was rebuilt with better material by a professionall and is now working flawlessly.

The glass in this massive lens looks very good, there are minimal cleaning marks and air bubbles. There is nothing here, that would affect image quality!

The soft focus mechanism is working smoothly with the same nice 'woosh' as the Cooke knuckler.

A truly amazing and rare lens, which will make the new owner happy for sure.

The lens comes with its a fitting flange.




height: 13cm
width: 10.5cm
weight: 2100gr

Insured and tracked shipping cost:

Germany - 20 eur
EU* - 30 eur
Worldwide - 80 eur

*(the site offers only 2 shipping variations, DE and worldwide. buyers from EU please either contact me beforehand for a reduced EU cost, or after buying so i can send a refund over the difference)

Importent Note: This item comes from my private collection and is around 100 years old (antique). I try my best to describe all the faults and major damage which are relevant for the function of this item. But the actuall item can show signs of wear and also some cosmetic blemishes/damage which is not described in the auction text! When buying this item the buyer agrees to this terms.