What is whole/half plate?

[thevegasrealtor]

Hello all. I've been talking with a seller who says he has whole plate camera with bookform holders. I've seen what they are but I have no idea what the difference is between whole plate, half plate and regular 5x7.

[karl french]

Typically Whole Plate (aka Full Plate) is 6.5 x 8.5"
Half Plate is 4.75 x 6.5"

[David Karp]

The bookform holders are different than the modern two sided holders we are used to using.

Additionally, for Whole Plate, there was not a uniform standard for the T distance. The distance from the flap end of the holder to the rib lock can also differ.

Lots of information on this site regarding the different holder standards.

[Leigh]

Typically Whole Plate (aka Full Plate) is 6.5 x 8.5"
Half Plate is 4.75 x 6.5"
Are you sure about that?

Half of 8.5 is 4.25, not 4.75.

Conversely, twice 4.75 is 9.5, not 8.5.

- Leigh

[karl french]

Yes, I'm sure. There are some minor variations in the dimension of half plate, but the dimensions I listed are the most common. Just because it's Whole and Half doesn't mean the actual dimensions are 1 & 1/2. Just a naming convention.

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

The original (19th century) half-plate dimensions were 4.25 x 5.5".

For whatever its worth, I think the reason that neither of the half-plates are half of a whole-plate is to keep the proportions of the shape consistent.