Trying to figure out what this is!

[ArtTech101]

Hi, I'm an art tech in a school and we have this machine in our department, but no one knows what make it is or how to use it!

The only info I have is that someone has stuck a sign on the front saying graphic enlarger and there's a serial number sticker. There's no manufacturer so we are a bit stuck.

Wondering if anyone knows more about it and can point me in the right direction of how to find out more about it. We may use it but we may also sell it.

Thanks!

 

[AgX]

Welcome!



To me it rather looks like a vertical process-camera, which someone turned into an enlarger.

To give you an advise, if at all..., we need details of the respective head. It may be that thing in the foreground of image #2.

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

It is a vertical process camera, possibly converted to some other use.

 

[Marcelo Paniagua]

Agree, process camera. Seems a bit modified but pretty much like it.

 

[Bill Burk]

Haaa that’s an art school not a print shop.

I think it’s a “Lucy”. Artwork placed below and cranks turned to enlarge/reduce as needed. Then artist would tape tracing paper on top and trace the outlines

 

[AgX]

Well, this would explain the "canopy" frame, I was wondering about from the start: to hold a dark cloth.



What I am missing then are any lamps for reflective lighing or at least mounts for such.
But what we see instead may be a smaller format light box, to which the "not use" warning refers.

 

[AgX]

The right term then would be:

Tracer Enlarger



But so far I have not found anything of this design, let alone this model...


Anyway, likely a manufacturer of a process camera offered a model for the art world where he substituted the film back by a glass plate and added that canopy (the resp. bushing look not homemade to me).
The two switches then are for two lamps for reflective lighting, in this case substituted by a light box.

 

[Bill Burk]

Lucigraph, Lucidograph or Luci, Lucy.

Art students used them a lot back in the day, like they would use an opaque projector.

They can look like process cameras, sometimes a booth. That’s right AgX, the wire frame above would be for a dark cloth canopy for the artist to stick their head under.

Probably just has a circular tube fluorescent bulb to light the easel.

 

[infrar3d]

Someone definitely tried tracing on wet materials at some point.

We had one in graphic design school. But it looked more like a booth.

 

[AgX]

Lucigraph, Lucidograph or Luci, Lucy.

Art students used them a lot back in the day, like they would use an opaque projector.

Never even heard of such. I guess it was an american thing.
What I know instead are trace projectors. Even once came one across at a fleamarket, but never at an academy.
The only thing common were episcopes, but this was again a different concept, again being a projector, and only for reflectecd light.

 

[gone]

I have a projector on a stand, and you can raise it up, turn the head, etc. It's a much smaller thing than this beast, but whatever works for someone is fine. I find the projector to be invaluable for blowing up thumb nail sketches to make 18" x 24" drawings, pastels, and charcoals.

At first though, it wasn't. You lose the freshness of the line if you're copying things. Now I project the image, and use loose, quick arm movements for the copying instead of trying to do it exactly w/ just my hand. That fixed things nicely.