Post-1945, Ilford began selling a range of photographic accessories, presumed to have been souced by their Amateur Products Division which, from 1957, handled the import and marketing of the ILFORD Sportsman cameras from the Dacora camera company of Reutlingen in Wurtenberg, West Germany. By the 1950 BJPA, Ilford, in their company advertisement, claimed "Ilford Accesories are available for almost every photographic requirement. Full details are available on application".

Another web page illustrates and discusses Ilford's 35mm slide projectors. This page looks at the various darkroom enlargers marketed by Ilford for b&w printing.

In the BJPA for 1950 (advertised in Amateur Photographer November 1949) Ilford illustrated a Portable Enlarger. It folded down into a wooden box for storage & transportation. It is believed to have been made by Micro Precision Products (MPP) from around 1947 until 1952. All early models were badged as MPP but from 1949 some were sold as Ilford enlargers. In mid-1955, Ilford included a full range of M.P.P enlargers in their catalogue, Models IE, IG & IP being for 35mm, ID, IR & IN Models being for 2¼"x2¼" negatives and Model 3 for 2½"x3½" negatives.

Ilford described the portable enlarger thus: "A precision enlarger for 35mm negatives which has been designed for portability. It folds into a well-finished hardwood box, size 16½"x14"x6" and weighs 17lbs. It may be erected in three separate positions according to the size of enlargement desired. In the position illustrated, enlargements may be made up to 10"x12". Other positions are show below (left).

The normal lens equipment is the Ross Resolux 5cm f3.5, but an adapter will take the 2in Wray or Dallmeyer f3.5 lenses if preferred. Focussing is not automatic but easily and accurately done. The negative carrier is glassless and cannot damage the negative."

• Plano-convex condenser
• 60wat illumination - lamp adjusts for optimum illumination
• Grey stove-enamel finish
• Strong hardwood case with handle
• Large-diameter helical focussing mount
• Glassless negative carrier
• Three-way adaptibility (see left)

The 1954 BJPA has an Ilford advert showing the Envoy Junior Enlarger. Bill Smith e-mailed to say "I knew the Envoy people very well. Ilford sold their wide-angle camera mainly to industrial outlets but the big seller from Envoy was their enlarger. It was generally thought to be the best enlarger for the amateur market. The Envoy works in Handsworth, Birmingham (UK) was a very dingy little upstairs workshop and they did wonders in producing any precision products at all! I often visited them."

The BJPA reveiewd the Envoy enlarger as follows:
ENVOY JUNIOR ENLARGER (Photo Developments Ltd., Leonard Road, Handsworth, Birmingham 10. Marketed by Ilford Limited, Ilford, London)

This new enlarger contains a number of rather original features in its design, and some of its parts are made from unusual materials. Basically the Envoy Junior is a perfectly conventional instrument for negative sizes up to 2¼ x 3¼in and is supported on a plywood baseboard sized around 17 x 15in. The flange which supports the column on the base board does not surround the column in the conventional fashion, but is only a half tube. The column is secured to this by a large size bolt fitted with a wing nut. The column is a 30in length of extruded aluminium tube 1¾in diameter, and finished by anodising.

The basis of the enlarger head itself is a light alloy casting which forms the bottom of the lamphouse and the negative carrier. This unit is supported from the column by a cast alloy bracket. The lens panel is carried by two parallel rods, but in contrast to the usual system whereby the lens panel slides up and down the rods, the panel in this case is firmly fixed to their lower ends. The two rods then slide in and out of the main head casting and project into the lamphouse. This method gives a larger bearing surface at the point at which the sliding motion takes place, and also enables a very novel focussing movement to be used.

Fixed at one end of one of the rods with a tension adjustment is a thin steel stranded wire. This wire runs down the rod and is fixed at the lower end to the lens panel. At right angles to the two support rods within the head casting is a shaft which carries on its right-hand outer end a large knob. The portion of this shaft which is within the lamp-house carries a fairly coarse thread, and one turn of the wire which runs down the support rod is taken round this shaft and in turn grips the thread. Thus when the knob at the end of the shaft is turned the lens panel is moved up and down smoothly and quite without any backlash. This is quite the best and simplest focussing movement we have encountered on an enlarger of this pattern.

The bellows are circular in section and are moulded from black rubber. The negative carrier, too, is a rubber moulding, and the design is such that the weight of the upper glass may be taken off the negatives in order to move the strip along. The film cradles are made from blue flexible polythene.

The enlarger is supplied with a flashed opal diffuser, and if desired condensers can be obtained for 35mm., 2¼in. sq. and 2¼x3¼in. negative sizes. The head casting is so made internally that the two condensers which are used for the largest size negatives are simply fitted into suitable lugs which are cast internally. For the two smaller sizes of negative, adapter plates are used to support the smaller size condensers.

The lamphouse is a light metal spinning which is finished, like the head casting, the bracket, the column flange, and the lens panel, in blue hammer lacquer. The enlarger is pleasant and comfortable to use, the focussing action being particularly good.

The price of the basic enlarger, without lens or condensers is £10 10s. 0d. plus £3 8s. 3d. purchase tax. The pair of condensers for 2¼ x 3¼in. negatives cost £2 14s. 0d., the set of condensers and an adapter plate for 2¼in. sq. negatives cost £3 12s. 6d., and the condenser and adapter plate for 35-mm. cost £1 13s. 6d. Panels can be obtained for a wide range of lenses from manufacturers such as Dallmeyer, Taylor, Taylor & Hobson, Ross, and Wray.

Between 1954 and perhaps 1955, the Envoy Junior was renamed the Envoy Universal and was increased in price to £17.19s.4d (£17.97p), still without lens or condensers, a substantial increase over the price of an Envoy Junior and one wonders if the name change was to make this substantail price increase more palatable.

M.P.P. ENLARGERS
Available in five different models for negatives from 35 mm. to 2½ x 3½in (6x9cm)
General Specification of all models: The lamphouse takes a 75 or a 100 watt bulb which may be adjusted vertically. A double condenser incorporates a heat filter, and an orange swing-out filter is fitted for paper positioning. For focusing the enlarger head moves easily on the column and may be locked in the approximate size position; final focusing is then obtained by rotating the lens mount. Baseboards are of steel-reinforced hardwood.

Special details

Model	3	1D	1F	1E	1G
Size	2½x3½in	2¼x2¼in	2¼x2¼in	35mm	35mm
Baseboard	24 x 24 in	16 x 18 in	24 x 24 in	16 x 18 in	24 x 24 in
Price	£36.2s.3d	£28.17s.9d	£31.8s.4d	£28.17s.9d	£31.8s.4d
Glass Carrier	£2.17s.9d	£2.6s.3d	£2.6s.3d	n/a	n/a
Glassless Carrier	n/a	£2.6s.3d	£2.6s.3d	£2.6s.3d	£2.6s.3d
Condenser	£6.2s.9d	£3.5s.0d	£3.5s.0d	£2.12s.0d	£2.12s.0d

Spare lens thread adaptors: 7s. 3d for all models.
Lenses: By Ross, Dallmeyer and Wray can be supplied. A lens thread adaptor is supplied for lenses other than Ross and the Wray 4¼ in. Prices as for the Envoy enlargers, above.

In the 1955 Ilford Photographic Material General Catalogue, p177, there are two enlargers of the type illustrated to the right, named as Vanguard Enlargers (Kamm) Models 2 & 4.

The Model 2 cost £195 and was suited to negatives up to 8 x 10 (20 x 25cm),

The Model 4 cost £155 and was suited to negatives up to half-plate in size (as the item illustrated).