"For General Viewing".

[vpwphoto]

What do you think they meant in the old Senaca catalogs when describing a camera good for portraits and "for general viewing".

Sounds kinda corny like someone would set up the camera and just gaze at the ground glass at the neighbors or a vista across the river.

Just wondering... and perplexed.:confused:

 

[Ian Grant]

A subtle way of saying not a lot of movements

Ian

 

[Vaughn]

Well, I have been asked if my 8x10 was a telescope (and a movie camera and a surveyor's transit), but, sigh, never a Hasselblad.

I guess I should just say am having a general look around...

 

[michaelbsc]

Tell them it is voyeurist scope.

 

[greybeard]

It is my understanding that in the early days of photography, the principal genres were "portraits" and "views", as in "A View of the Great Sphinx". Hence, "view camera" with less bellows and more portability than a studio camera, and a camera for "general views" might have been one not specialized for panoramas, or some other niche genre.

On the other hand, museums are full of pictures of doughty gentlemen in fancy uniforms, so maybe it was intended for only the most senior officers of the army.....

 

[Vaughn]

So a "private view" camera would be either a roughly made camera for the foot soldiers, or used to take naughty french postcard shots.

 

[greybeard]

I think that about covers the major possibilities...