A contrary opinion on the naming of the Rolleiflex T

[Eddie Vaughan]

The Rolleiflex T is widely believed to have been named after Theodor Uhl (T for Theodor), who had been employed by Rollei to apply his knowledge of plastics to the construction of a new moderately priced Rolleiflex that could compete more effectively against Japanese TLRs flooding the market in the mid 1950s. The suggestion here is that Uhl had named the camera after himself, and it is also believed that he was sacked for this arrogance. These beliefs are most likely untrue.

Ian Parker's authoritative history of Rollei TLR cameras devotes a whole chapter to the Rolleiflex T. It explains that the camera was intended for professional photographers and serious amateurs who found other Rolleiflex models, such as the Rolleiflex E and F, too expensive. It was to be named a Rolleiflex rather than a Rolleicord because Rolleicords were bought mainly by hobbyists who were, in any case, starting to shift their camera and film preference to 35mm. It was important, therefore, to protect Rollei's share of the professional camera market. It was thought that professionals and serious amateurs would be more attracted to the name ' Rolleiflex', even though the new camera would share some features with the Rolleicord, because the name had high status among professional photographers and was associated with craftsmanship and durable quality. But what name to assign to this new Rolleiflex?

Successive Rolleicord models had been identified by a Roman numeral, but since 1951, when the Rolleiflex A was introduced, successive Rolleiflex models were identified by a letter suffix. By 1958, the series of Rolleiflex models extended from A to F. In that year, the Rolleiflex 3.5F succeeded the previous model, the Rolleiflex E. The Rolleiflex T was also introduced in the same year., but a moment's reflection should reveal that it could not have been assigned the letter suffix of an existing Rolleiflex, including the superseded E, nor could it be assigned the letter 'G' without this implying that it had succeeded the Rolleiflex F. So what to call it?

The Rolleiflex T was a sensible name for two reasons. First, the name would clearly separate the new camera from those in the alphabetical series begun in 1951 and which had been associated with incremental improvements in Rolleiflex TLRs that had been introduced at intervals over that time. The Rolleiflex T plainly did not belong in that series. Second, the choice of the letter 'T' was especially appropriate because the new camera was the first to be equipped with the 3.5 Tessar lens after the Planar and Xenotar had become the standard. (A similar case existed much later with the naming of the Rollei 35 S Classic, with 'S' standing for Sonnar.)

Ian Parker's chapter on the camera reports that Rollei employees had joked that the Rolleiflex T was named after Theodor Uhl and that this had annoyed Rollei management when it heard of it. One must suspect that the joking about the name of the camera had chiefly annoyed Reinhold Heidecke, the creator of the original Rolleiflex, who still exerted strong control over the development of new Rolleiflex models. He would not have liked someone else taking credit for the Rolleiflex T, or even jokingly being given credit for it. Parker adds, enigmatically, that Theodor Uhl left Rollei shortly afterwards for "unknown reasons".

Theodor Uhl's response to these events is not known. Perhaps he did not want to challenge the belief that the Rolleiflex T was named after him; one might surmise that the belief would only have enhanced his professional reputation, even if it was untrue. The camera was very likely not named after him, however, and one must wonder if the popular belief that began as a joke had 'framed' him for something he did not do.

Eddie Vaughan

[JanBoettcher]

Other than in Parker's book (or people quoting / referring to him), I have not heard or read of T.U. ... no Franke&Heidecke "Order of battle", no Braunschweig phone book entry, no patent, no ...

The one patent directly related to the T I could find was for the f-stop and aperture display bands, and that was assigned to Hermann Bretthauer and Joachim Mädge.

[Eddie Vaughan]

Are you suggesting then, Jan, that rumours of Theodor Uhl's existence -- let alone his contribution to the development of the Rolleiflex T -- had been exaggerated?

Eddie Vaughan

[JanBoettcher]

There is just so much Rolleiflex T baloney circulating ("plastic knobs") ... I'd like to find a second source (not based on the first source Parker) on the story or at least some faint hint that Theodore Uhl guy ever existed. I mean, Franke and Heidecke were not in a position like Stalin to have a person completely "disappear" (not only the person itself, but also all the pictures etc. of that person).

[Eddie Vaughan]

I agree, Jan, it seems odd that so little is known about Theodor Uhl beyond the widespread belief that he played a large part in designing the Rolleiflex T. If I were researching the question seriously, then I would contact Rollei (in its present incarnation) and ask for confirmation that Uhl was employed around the time (1957 -1958) that Parker describes him as working on the design of the Rolleiflex T. There are probably employment records and board minutes stored somewhere because Parker refers to them in his history.

My point was simply that popular belief that Uhl named the Rolleiflex T after himself is most likely false. You are raising a more fundamental doubt about whether he was employed by Rollei at all, He might not even qualify for entry in your data cemetery.