Cameras circa 1850 to 1900 ??

[Calamity Jane]

Has anybody found an online collection of pictures of cameras from the late 1800s?

I have done a net search but only found a few (poor) photos. Somebody somewhere must have a descent online assortment....

It's time to build another camera and I'd like to mimic something OLD.

Thanks gang!

[Moe_4073]

Try: http://www.fiberq.com/cam/index.htm

[Nick_3536]

Kodak had/has a website that included some photos. There is a website covering various rochester produced cameras but not much in the way of photos. IIRC mostly drawings etc.

"View Camera Techniques" includes a chapter covering older cameras.

The problem is when these cameras were new nobody would have wasted film [plate or sheet] on photographing them. By the time you've gotten to the point somebody might have wanted to document them the cameras might not have been stock anymore.

Look for catalogs. You likely won't find many photographs but plenty of drawings.

BTW I don't think much has really changed when it comes to wooden cameras.

[Ernest Purdum]

The link that Moe provided is the best I know of. In particular, the Rochester section will give you a pretty broad range of types to look at. I couldn't get the "Carlton" to come up, which is a pity, since it was one of the best available at that time. It would also be one of the more difficult to reproduce, though.

There are some books which could be helpful. One of them is "An Age of Cameras" by Edward Holmes. I have found www.abebooks,com very helpful in searching for books, and usually much less expensive than eBay. I recently paid $3.85 for a book which went for about $70.00 on eBay.

The biggest stumbling block in trying to reproduce old cameras (or to repair one) is the rack and pinion which is the most common focusing mechanism. Modern types available as stock items from sources such as Boston Gear are quite different from the early types. You might want to start by looking for these before starting on other parts.

Wood is also a problem. The really good wood has been unavailable for many years. Maybe your local Salvation Army oe similar might have something from which good wood could be salvaged.

I wish you success.

[Terence McDonagh]

As I was thinking along the same lines, here's a partial list (I'll have to dig out the others later):

[/url]

(http://www.photographica.nu/cameracollection.htm)



(http://vintage-cameras.com/html/chambres_en_bois__2_1.html)



(http://members.aol.com/dcolucci/)



(http://homepage.mac.com/cameradecollection/folding/index.html)



(http://www.antiquewoodcameras.com/)



(http://brightbytes.com/cosite/portable.html)



(http://www.boxcameras.com/)

[url=http://www.geh.org/fm/toronto/htmlsrc/toronto_sld00001.html]

Most are hobbyists' pages, except the dcolucci site.

[Terence McDonagh]

My first attempt at html failed. What I meant to say was:

As I was thinking along the same lines, here's a partial list (I'll have to dig out the others later):

http://www.photographica.nu/cameracollection.htm

http://www.antiquewoodcameras.com/

http://vintage-cameras.com/html/chambres_en_bois__2_1.html

http://brightbytes.com/cosite/portable.html

http://members.aol.com/dcolucci/

http://www.boxcameras.com/

http://homepage.mac.com/cameradecollection/folding/index.html

http://www.photographica.nu/cameracollection.htm

http://www.antiquewoodcameras.com/

http://vintage-cameras.com/html/chambres_en_bois__2_1.html

http://brightbytes.com/cosite/portable.html

http://members.aol.com/dcolucci/

http://www.boxcameras.com/

http://homepage.mac.com/cameradecollection/folding/index.html

http://www.geh.org/fm/toronto/htmlsrc/toronto_sld00001.html

Most are hobbyists' pages, except the dcolucci site.

[Terence McDonagh]

Aww, you get the point. I'm sticking to pure text from now on.

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

Lots of good references above.

Another resource is the wet-plate crowd--an odd and obsessive bunch (but no more than most LF photographers)--who are usually found at Civil War reenactments. Ray Morgenweck http://www.geocities.com/starcameracompany/index2.htm makes very high quality "authentic" reproductions. He might be of some use if you have specific questions. Alternatively, the folks at the Wet-Plate forum http://www.cwreenactors.com/cgi-bin/collodion2000/dcboard.cgi might also be of help...

[Calamity Jane]

You guys are FANTASTIC! What a treasure trove of historic camera information!

Thanks everybody!

[Terence McDonagh]

And let us not forget my new favorite (listed by someone on the Classic Cameras forum on photo.net):

http://www.westlicht-auction.com/index.php?id=25111&_ssl=off

Go to the Historic Cameras section for each of their auctions, and prepare to drool. Make sure you're in their "English" translation, unless you're fluent in German, etc.

[Calamity Jane]

QUICK! Somebody hide my credit card!

They sure have some beautiful old cameras in Europe but THE PRICES!!!