A student at the College where I work as an I.T. technician has recently been given a wooden field camera, but had no holders for it; somebody suggested that she ask me. I quite often buy holders on Ebay or at camera fairs when one of a batch is a type that I don't have an example of, so I have far more than I need, so I was looking through for some in reasonable condition which I have duplicates of in the collection, mainly Graflex Riteway, that I could give her. Also found a few other odds and ends that I gave her.
Anyway, while I was looking through my holders I came across a slightly unusal one, which I'd forgotten about. It's wooden, With the metal parts completely smooth, no embossed name or markings, in fact no name at all, on wood or metal. The first unusual thing is the darkslides; instead of the usual thick wire handles the metal ends of the slides has a curved cut-out, large enough for a thumb, so you can grip the opposite slide. The two slides are different, one has the cut-out in the centre, with a rivet on each side of it, while the other has the cut-out offset to one side, with a single rivet in the centre. This means of course that you can tell which side is which in the darkroom.
The other unusual feature is that it is thinner than normal wooden holders, the same thickness as a modern plastic holder, or maybe even a few thou thinner. It's very nicely made, and there's no hint of warping.
Does anybody know who made these holders? It is a nice design, and I'm surprised they weren't more popular, but I've never seen another one.
Anyway, while I was looking through my holders I came across a slightly unusal one, which I'd forgotten about. It's wooden, With the metal parts completely smooth, no embossed name or markings, in fact no name at all, on wood or metal. The first unusual thing is the darkslides; instead of the usual thick wire handles the metal ends of the slides has a curved cut-out, large enough for a thumb, so you can grip the opposite slide. The two slides are different, one has the cut-out in the centre, with a rivet on each side of it, while the other has the cut-out offset to one side, with a single rivet in the centre. This means of course that you can tell which side is which in the darkroom.
The other unusual feature is that it is thinner than normal wooden holders, the same thickness as a modern plastic holder, or maybe even a few thou thinner. It's very nicely made, and there's no hint of warping.
Does anybody know who made these holders? It is a nice design, and I'm surprised they weren't more popular, but I've never seen another one.
