Strange attachment and lens mount on 5x7 tailboard camera

[CrisMar]

Hello, my first post here, hope you can please help me. I recently bought a tailboard camera (my first LF) that needs some TLC, nothing that I can't manage, happily. My biggest problem is on the front of the camera: there is a sort of "hinge" or "holding" piece on the bottom , and also the lens board is pretty strange. I've been searching of the web for something similar, but I found only an other one (it only had the same bottom part, not the lens board), and from the discussion they too did'nt know what it was used for.
I can exclude a guillotine shutter (it started on top of the lens, on mine it's impossible because there is a screw and wouldnt fit).
I couldnt find any shutter that has that sort of "fingerprint".
I have no clue if the two parts are related to each other or not.
I asked the seller, but it was his father camera, but he had no lens nor idea of what was in front.
I also contacted a (ancient) lens expert, also did not have a clue...
So here I am, stuck.
I wish I could restore it to something like it originally was, since it looks like something a little bit different than usual.
Hope someone can help me.

Cristian

[Tin Can]

More pics please

[CrisMar]

More pics please

As you can see its not in perfect condition, but its workable, I had much modern cameras in far worst conditions....

The red lines to indicate that the parts ar perfectly aligned

Underneath the lens board with square hole, a nice (and normal) circle...

[Dan Fromm]

The lens mount looks like an adapter for a modern lens board. No idea about the "hinge."

[Tin Can]

no idea

but

tailboard cameras can carry a heavy old lens

I havw a few...

[Gary Beasley]

Looks like it is built for shift and rise/fall movements. The bracket may simply be a place for a compendium to mount.

[John Layton]

Jeesh I wake up and its 2am and right away I need to get my brain to work Strange all right. If its for lateral movement...then why is that hole behind the sliding panel quite a bit smaller than the front bellows opening? Hmmm.... What about all that space in there? Maybe once upon a time there was a roller blind shutter curtain - which at some point had been extracted (for repairs?) and never put back in?

(...and with this not being solved - how will I ever get back to sleep?)

[CrisMar]

tailboard cameras can carry a heavy old lens

Pretty sure, I've seen some, but it's a wierd spot to put the weight of a lens, I'll investigate anyhow, thanks

The bracket may simply be a place for a compendium to mount.

I searched also tripod attachments, but no luck

Maybe once upon a time there was a roller blind shutter curtain - which at some point had been extracted (for repairs?) and never put back in?
(...and with this not being solved - how will I ever get back to sleep?)

Nope, all clean inside, as you can see...


Sorry for your sleep , but thanks anyhow

[jnantz]

hi crismar

people do all sorts of weird stuff to cameras, my guess is it was for a self made modification, to look through the camera from the front to the back, you know to make sure
the ground glass is attached. some people are forgetful and by the time they move from the film plane to the camera's front to adjust they forgot if the ground glass is still there ..
kind of like driving back to your home to make sure you shut the garage door when you'r down the street. some people used cameras as enlargers so it might have also had to do with a projection lens
and a filter for enlarging paper, or maybe it's a mount for a zone plate / pinhole instead of a shuttered lens ..
have fun with your new camera !

[CrisMar]

some people used cameras as enlargers so it might have also had to do with a projection lens
and a filter for enlarging paper, or maybe it's a mount for a zone plate / pinhole instead of a shuttered lens ..
have fun with your new camera !

I'll search also in this diresction, tanks,
I'll surely do :-D