Roger Lannes de Montebello, working drawings and illustrated research notes, 1983-86

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Trained as an artist, Roger Lannes de Montebello was a superb draftsman who left a voluminous number of drawings connected to the development of the CrystalChrome Camera and CrystalChrome Lens Screen. On almost a daily basis he would layout in text and images the results of his research and experiments.

“Surface thermasample test,” dated December 15, 1984; pencil on graph paper; 11 x 17 inches

“Steps to completion of the camera and printer,” dated May 17, 1985; pencil on graph paper; 11 x 17 inches

“Camera parameters,” dated March 17, 1984; pencil on graph paper; 11 x 17 inches

The long diagonal lines depict the light ray paths through the camera.

Drawing with written notes concerning the pitch of the “Hexdome Array,” the “Condit Punch,” and the placement of film in the camera, dated March 23, 1984; photostat with annotations and corrections made with tape and ink; 12.5 x 17.5 inches

As shown by this object, these working drawings were often photocopied for his assistants and then updated with changes and new calculations.

Drawing tracing light paths through the lens screen, 1983-86; pencil and screen-tone on vellum; 13 x 14.5 inches

View of the multiple sections that make up the lens screen, 1983-86; pencil and screen-tone on vellum; 11 x 16.5 inches

Roger Lannes de Montebello

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Roger Lannes de Montebello (1908–1986): A 40-Year Quest for 3-D Photography
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Although Philippe de Montebello, the former Metropolitan Museum director is well-known, few people have heard about his father Roger de Montebello and his life-long creative obsession with three-dimensional photography.