I'm hoping that you all can help me identify this camera, which I inherited from my grandfather some years back. I'd like to find out more about it, but can't seem to find anything online about it.
As the photo shows the handle says "Universal Tuwel (or Juwel) 440". Any ideas would be very helpful.
Hi, do a google search on Juwel 440 camera.
Jon
my black and white photos of the Mendocino Coast: jonshiu.zenfolio.com
Wasn't Juwell on of the companies which merged to become Zeiss-Ikon in the 1920s?
I seem to remember that camera as a Zeiss product. Didn't St. Ansel use one of these at one time?
The "Universal Juwel" was made by the Zeiss-Ikon AG at least in two formats, 9x12cm and 13x18cm. A quadratic camera with triple bellows-extention made in the twenties of the last century.
There are really two questions, not necessarily exclusive; what is the history, and whether it can be used. Your Juwel could be a gem, or maybe not; the old Bessa I got from my grandfather is pretty much useless to anyone but me, but one of my personal treasures. There are a couple of more things you can do to help figure it out. Measure the ground glass on the back of the camera. Take down the information from the lens, or take a snap of it and put it up here. Then extend the camera a bit and take some photos from the side. The works on the front and rear standards will tell how much the lens plane and the film plane can be moved.
The Universal juwel started out as an ICA model and was taken over by Zeiss Ikon when that conglomerate was formed in 1926. It was the top of the line folding model, very versatile at the time and its capabilities are considerable even when compared to modern cameras. It was very expensive, so is not often seen today.
It would be a nice camera to use if you also have the film holders.
The 440 model was the 13x18 size (the european continental metric version of 5x7). It closely mirrored the myriads of smaller 9x12 german folders in construction.
Nice camera and useable if it still has the film/plate holders, otherwise it's reduced to little more than a good looking bookshelf decoration (holders in that size are VERY hard to find). The weight of the camera could be seen as another slight drawback - it's on the heavy side compared to other similary sized cameras. I got a 440 somewhere in storage, and it's a very pretty camera IMO. If you are ever playing with the thought of selling it, drop me a PM, I might be interested.
Very helpful posts. Here are a couple more pics for the curious. It does still have the film holders. Indeed, as you may be able to tell from one of the pics, my grandfather had removed the original back and fit a smaller back on to the camera (I'm guessing it's 4x6). There are two 4x6 holders. I also have the original 5x7 back and the holders (along with an envelope with the screws for the back carefully tucked inside). So sounds like it may be functioning. Was it ever a good one?
Incidentally, I can't get the bellows to extend further than what's shown in the picture. The two thumb knobs right below the lens seem to be the trick, but only one seems to turn.....
Also, the lens says 1:4.5 f - 21 cm. There's also another lens in the case that's 3.5 15 cm.
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