How is bellows attached in 7x17 Korona?

[Steve Goldstein]

Well, not necessarily just a Korona, but almost any of the banquet
cameras, which I assume do not have removable backs. Is it just
glued to the front of the back? I suppose gluing it to a frame, then
bolting/screwing the frame to the back so the overlap of the bellows
was sandwiched between the frame and the back itself would give
the most strength...

I'd love an opportunity to look at one of these in the flesh, as it
were. Does anyone in the Boston, MA area have one they'd be
willing to let me ogle?

Thanks.

steve

[Gene McCluney]

In general, all bellows are glued to "frames" that are then attached to the front and back standards. On wood cameras, the frames are generally wood, and attached with tiny wood screws. On some brands, there is possibly glue involved in addition to screws.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Yes, this is how it works on my Korona 7x17" and American Optical 11x14" wooden cameras. The bellows is glued to a frame at each end, and the frames are held in place with wood screws.

[Steve Goldstein]

Thanks, that's very interesting. I'd assumed the back is not removable since it can't be rotated, hence one could in theory attach the bellows directly to the back. For the rear frame, is the bellows glued to the front (lens side) or rear (film side)?

[David A. Goldfarb]

The back is removeable, though it is true that it's not obvious why it should be for any reason other than servicing the bellows. I've never seen reduction backs for the 7x17", say for 7x11" or 5x7" or smaller, but I suppose one could make them. Occasionally with my 11x14" camera I'll remove the back after inserting the holder, before pulling the darkslide, to make sure that the holder is properly seated in the back, which is an issue with bigger formats that you don't really need to worry about with 8x10" and smaller, so that's another reason for a removable back on a 7x17" camera.

The cloth wraps around the frame so that it's glued along the sides and back (film side) of the rear frame, and the sides and front (lens side) of the front frame.

[wfwhitaker]

Unless I'm mistaken, having the back removable on a banquet camera allows it to be reversed so that the film holder is inserted from the left. Other than to benefit severely left-handed photographers, this would be useful if the sun were to the right to keep direct sunlight from striking the light trap. Some old holders (and even new) can be a bit draughty...

[Gene McCluney]

Unless I'm mistaken, having the back removable on a banquet camera allows it to be reversed so that the film holder is inserted from the left. Other than to benefit severely left-handed photographers, this would be useful if the sun were to the right to keep direct sunlight from striking the light trap. Some old holders (and even new) can be a bit draughty...

That is a brilliant reason. Those old camera designers were not stupid!! Also, it might be that one might have had to set-up the camera in a position where the darkslide removal on one side would be restricted by the architecture. Those are loooong darkslides.

[Steve Goldstein]

Thanks everyone, this is exactly the sort of info and insight I was looking for. Now back to the drafting board...

[David A. Goldfarb]

Indeed, there are pins on both sides of the back, so it could be reversed.