Historical Photographers

[Bill_1856]

Just wondering what size plates were generally used in the fields by Brady, O'Sullivan, and Wm. Henry Jackson? (I know they carried several sizes, but there must have been one size they usually used). And how about focal lengths -- wonder what was their standards? TIA.

[Bill_1856]

I feel silly answering part of my own question, but have located lots of prints by the above photographers on the George Eastman House sites. Brady=8x10", Jackson=4x5", and O'Sullivan=9x11". Lots of Stereo views, too, about 3" square (x2). Anybody have any idea about the focal length lenses they used?

[Eric Wagner]

I know a little about Jackson and have hunted up a number of his viewpoints. I think he used a 5x8 for stereo, so the 4x5s you located may be half of a stereo pair. He used cameras from 5x8 to 20x24 on the government surveys. Most of the viewpoints I have located are from photos he made for the railroads. He mostly used normal to a little longer than normal for them. But he also used wide-angle lenses. He used the equivalent on a 100mm on 4x5 for a scenic he made on a 5x8 plate in 1874. And he used the equivalent of a 90mm on 4x5 for a railroad photo he made on a 16x20 glass plate in 1893.