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jb7
11-Sep-2013, 13:46
Does anyone know anything about the history of the film holder? I've searched, but it's a difficult thing to research.

I'd imagine it's a direct descendant of a dry plate holder, no? Would anyone know when the design for the modern holder type was first seen, and when the first plastic holders were made?

I'm trying to write a little article, any help appreciated...

joseph

IanG
11-Sep-2013, 14:46
Err, a double sided plate holder with sliding sheaths is a "Double Dark Slide" even pre 1900. DDS can be plate or film holders I have some modern International fit 5x4 Graflex DDS that are plate holders and the MPP plate holders took a film adapter, in the Film only versions these are riveted in place.

Have a look at Earlyphotography.co.uk (http://www.earlyphotography.co.uk/site/entry_B26-1.html) there's some superb info.

Part of the history is DDS is a UK and Empire term not in early use in the US. Our modern DDS though are rooted in late 1800's US plate holders while in the UK and Europe they came in late. UK bookform holders and cameras that used them were still made by two companies Watson & Gandolfi until about 1960,. Many pre WWII German cameras took metal single sided darkslides, similar UK made cameras did too, a set of three amounted to about the same thickness as many wooden bookform DDS.

Ian

Jim C.
11-Sep-2013, 14:49
Have you tried Google patents ?
Here's a start - http://www.google.com/patents/US1323364

jb7
11-Sep-2013, 15:00
Thanks Ian and Jim-

The site Ian linked to seems to have a much more modern looking Double Dark Slide, the Edwards' Patent, from 1896, than the US Patent from 1919.
Interesting, even then, the pace of technological advancement-

Thanks for the help-

j

IanG
11-Sep-2013, 15:33
Related to DDS the Film packs are also interesting. John Edward Thornton of Thornton Pickard fame Patented his version which was licensed in the US and the basis of Kodak's film packs, Kodak also sold an early colour film based on one of his products/patents.

Ian

Sal Santamaura
11-Sep-2013, 15:56
...DDS is a UK and Empire term not in early use in the US...Nor in later or current use. Around here, the thing that accepts two sheets of film and goes in a camera is a film holder. Each film holder comes with two dark slides. :D:D

vinny
11-Sep-2013, 18:46
Not to be confused with DD's aka double d's.

premortho
17-Sep-2013, 12:54
Nor in later or current use. Around here, the thing that accepts two sheets of film and goes in a camera is a film holder. Each film holder comes with two dark slides. :D:D
Yes, that's right, except in the USA they are called either Sheet Film Holder(s), or Cut Film Holder(s)

Steven Tribe
18-Sep-2013, 02:02
They must have been introduced at the same time that commercial dry plates became available.
The tambour style wet plate holder (symmetrical) could have been easily modified to have a plate on both sides, rather than one of the tambours being a "loading bay" light seal.

Sevo
18-Sep-2013, 02:35
Many pre WWII German cameras took metal single sided darkslides,

These appear in the first years of the 20th century, and (with a mess of competing attachment standards) soon established themselves all across portable cameras. Bigger German cameras had the same bookform pattern as French and British cameras (with the usual brand variations regarding outer dimensions and attachments/locks). By 1920 they usually had tambour slides (where earlier bookform patterns had a two or three segment layout for their fixed slide) and also came in double-sided versions. They vanished into niches, in favour of metal holders, as Linhof and Plaubel (both with their roots in small/portable cameras) grew to dominate the German professional/studio market - in the fifties to sixties these then were displaced by US style "international" holders.

Only the GDR LF makers Mentor and Globica stuck to booktype holders right to their very end.