Roller-blind shutter attachment for folding field camera.
Category
Photographic technology
Date
1890 - 1900
Materials
Wood, Metal, Textile, String
Measurements
90 x 90 x 35 mm
Order this imageCollection
Fox Talbot Museum, Wiltshire
NT 1524689.2
Summary
Roller-blind shutter attachment for folding field camera. Mahogany with brass and other metal fittings. Single blind, spring powered, spring tension exposure control. Variable speeds: 1/90 - 1/15. Front of lens fitting. Pneumatic and finger release. Contains a length of light-proof black cloth, attached to rollers at each end. One roller has a spring mechanism built within it, so that it winds the blind in. The device is tensioned by pulling a drawstring attached to the other roller. When the trigger is released, the blind travels rapidly from one roller to the other - briefly allowing light into the camera. This type of early shutter was attached to the front of the camera as an "add on". An important feature of early cameras was the common method of composing and focusing the image on a ground glass screen placed at the focal plane, where the plate would be placed for the exposure. In order for this to be able to happen light had to pass through the lens, and the shutter is fitted with a stop so that the blind could remain open in front of the lens.
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