A Star Wizard No 4 folding plate camera.
Wollensak Optical Co.
Category
Photographic technology
Date
Unknown
Materials
Wood, Leather, Glass, Metal, Brass
Measurements
135 x 110 x 172 mm
Place of origin
Rochester
Order this imageCollection
Fox Talbot Museum, Wiltshire
NT 1524582
Summary
A Star Wizard No 4 folding plate camera. Shutter settings range 1-1/100 sec and B. The shutter disc has 'Gunlach Manhattan Optical Co.' Apertures range f8-f44. The lens plate has the inscriptions ' Wollensak Optical Co., Rochester, NY, USA'. It also bears two patent dates ' Pat. Feb 8, 1900' and 'Pat. July 23, 1904'. The lower plate reads 'Star Wizard No.4'. The lens has a rising/falling mechanism. The body is wood covered with black leather and the bellows is red leather. The baseboard is polished wood and the fittings are chrome. The baseboard has a focusing scale and there is a brilliant rotating viewfinder with cover. At the rear there is a ground glass focusing screen with hood. There are two tripod sockets.
Provenance
Part of The Fenton Collection. A gift from British Film Institute in 2017. From 1986-1999, part of BFI collection for the Museum of the Moving Image. BFI purchased collection in 1986 from James Fenton's Museum of Photography, Port Erin, Isle of Man 1976-1986
Makers and roles
Wollensak Optical Co., manufacturer