Identify this old camera. Is it a Daguerreotype??

[gary palmer]

Hi All.

Can anyone identify this old camera?
I suspect it is a Daguerreotype but not certain.
The Lens is a Ross.

Thanks

 

[Peltigera]

Why do you think it is a Daguerreotype camera? They were never so common in Britain - we took to glass plates earlier than other places.

If it was originally a wet plate camera, inside the back and around the back is likely to show signs of the wet emulsion used. If it is newer than 1850ish, it will be a dry plate camera.

 

[paul_c5x4]

Could well be a wet plate camera - The holders look similar to the ones shown here: http://www.earlyphotography.co.uk/site/entry_C100.html

There may be a nameplate somewhere on the camera indicating who made or sold it, Searching the internet with that information might yield more information.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

If it is newer than 1850ish, it will be a dry plate camera.

Wet plate wasn't invented until 1848, and details of the process were first published in The Chemist in 1851. Dry plate doesn't come about until the 1870s.

The craftsmanship of this camera remind me very much of my W. Watson & Sons 12x15 from the 1880s. In which case, yes, it would be a dry plate camera. My guess from looking at it that this was a specialized camera for doing landscapes as it cannot be rotated from horizontal to vertical, and the lens for it is non-interchangeable. It also has very limited movements (a little bit of rise) and what appears to be a very limited focusing range.

It may or may not be a Watson, but I'd start your research with that marque, as they were well-known in the period and produced high quality cameras (which this one appears to be from the look of the craftsmanship).

 

[gone]

Plate camera, either dry or wet. Love that brass winder key on the front. Whatever it is, it's gorgeous and very well made.

 

[Jerevan]

I'd say dry plate, since it has double darkslides on the filmholders. With wetplates that would be a bit meaningless, I suspect.

It looks like a very nice camera, indeed.

 

[Two23]

Some clues:

1. Mahogany, and all the screw slots line up. Only the British were THAT anal.
2. Ross lens has a slot for stops, and appears to be a rectilinear lens. Slots became popular after about 1860, lasted until mid 1880s. Rectilinear manufactured after 1865. Can't be Dag camera as that faded out in 1850s.
3. Double plate holders. Not used for wet plate--they did one plate at a time due to time constraints. That dates it after 1870-ish.
4. Double plate holders are an older style, probably predate 1890s.
5. Does the camera have a bellows between the two wooden sections? Surely does. Might be a finely made amateur landscape camera. What is the plate size? Looks like quarter plate or smaller.

My guess:
Quarter plate camera from 1870-1885, English, wet or dry plate. (Don't see any black staining on holders so more likely dry plate era.)


Kent in SD

 

[Ian Grant]

The camera is transitional, wet plate design but with very early dry plate holders, most likely mid to late 1870's. Cameras and plate holders changed significantly in the 1880's.

Ian