What is this strange lensboard attachment?

View attachment 215987 View attachment 215988 View attachment 215987 View attachment 215988 I've just finished refurbishing an early model Century Universal 8x10. The 6x6 lens board that came with the camera has an aluminum plate mounted to the front with a square opening over the circular opening on the actual wooden board. I've already purchased a replacement lens View attachment 215987 View attachment 215988 View attachment 215987 View attachment 215988 board but I can't, for the life of me, figure out what this metal plate would have been useful for. There's no apparent way to lock anything onto it and I'm just curious if anyone on here knows what it's for.

Michael

Maybe someone could have been using the camera as an enlarger and the lens board could have been made to accept an enlarging lens of some sort?

Kino said:

Maybe someone could have been using the camera as an enlarger and the lens board could have been made to accept an enlarging lens of some sort?

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That does seem like a reasonable idea. With the camera in vertical the lens would just sit still through gravity. It seems like a strange use of an old wooden camera but if it's all you've got sitting around...

It was the only way to enlarge for many, many years in the beginning of photography. Many used the same camera they took shots with to make enlargements.