Agfa-Ansco 1928 - 1967

occupation:
Manufacturer
Nationality:
American
born in:
Binghampton, Broome county, New York state, United States

In 1928 Ansco merged with the German photographic company Ansco to form Agfa-Ansco. However in the same year, the American holdings of the German chemical group IG Farben (the American branches of Bayer Company, General Aniline Works, Agfa Ansco, and Winthrop Chemical Company) were organized into a Swiss holding company named Internationale Gesellschaft für Chemische Unternehmungen AG, or IG Chemie in short. In 1929 these American firms merged to become American IG Chemical Corporation, or American IG, itself later renamed General Aniline & Film (GAF). They continued to produce cameras under the Agfa-Ansco name. In 1941 the company was taken over by the US government because of its links to Germany (produced war goods). After 1945 it was known as Ansco. The last Ansco cameras were produced in the early 1990s.