I have an 8x10 camera that I've been told is over 100 years old. It is an "Imperial" wood field camera with a Goerz Dagor in a compound shutter (f 6.8/ 9 1/2"). New-ish bellows, decent condition. It works fine. Any idea what it is worth? I stumbled into it a few years ago, but other than test shots, have never used it. Thanks for your help.
I'm not familiar with that make, Matt, although others here might be. The value for limited-production brands will be substantially less that what you see on eBay for Deardorffs, for example, which have somewhat of a cult status. Additionally, design will have a substantial effect - does it fold like a 'Dorff? What types of movements does it have? etc. You can search back auctions on eBay to get an approximate value for the lens. The camera itself might be valued at anywhere from $150-$200 up to $900 or so, depending on the above factors, its condition, and so forth.
"Imperial" was a model name used by the Thornton-Pickard company of Altrincham, England. It wouldn't be surprising, though, to find that some other company also used that name, and the 8" X 10" size would be unusual for a T-P product. If it extends both front and rear for focusing, and has a turntable in the base to attach tripod legs to, it is probably a T-P and would have some collector interest, though the "newish" bellows might reduce this.
If you are intending to sell it, putting the lens and the camera up separately would probably get you a better total.
You can search back auctions on eBay
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Can you? The last few times I've looked for that function I failed to find it. If someone can provide a link to it, if it still exists, I'd appreciate it.
Another thing the original poster can do is call Midwest Photo Exhange and get an estimate.
Wayne: http://pages.ebay.com/search/items/search_adv.html
Tick the "Completed Items only" box.
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