A week ago I came across this informative piece on the history of lenses including petzvals, Extremely interesting read, haven’t yet gotten around to read it in its entirety, but that shouldn’t keep you from reading 😉 You can download the pdf The history of Petzval Lenses by clicking the link. (Source: www.antiquecameras.net )
Have a good time reading!
-Indra
Photography Contrastique - Alternative Photographic Processes 