An Instantograph BB field camera
Lancaster and Sons
Category
Photographic technology
Date
1903
Materials
Wood, Brass, Leather?, Glass
Measurements
160 x 155 x 250 mm
Place of origin
Birmingham
Order this imageCollection
Fox Talbot Museum, Wiltshire
NT 1524701.1
Summary
An Instantograph BB field camera. The body is wooden and there are brass fittings (hence the designation BB). The focussing is on a ground glass screen by means of a rack and pinion mechanism. A printed label on top of the body reads 'The 1903 B.B. Instantograph Patent'. The bellows is leather and the focussing screen hinges to make way for the plate holder. The lens board is removable and the lens itself is in a brass mount. It is engraved 'J. Lancaster' together with 'Birmingham 1/4pl'. Aperture control is via several fixed orifices. There is a tripod socket on the base. The top has a leather carrying handle.
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
Lancaster and Sons, manufacturer