Instantograph folding field camera, 1888 and Lancaster plate holder
Lancaster and Sons
Category
Photographic technology
Date
1888
Materials
Wood, Brass, Metal, Paint, Leather, Glass, Copper
Measurements
Camera open (220 x 225 x 465mm)
Place of origin
Birmingham
Order this imageCollection
Fox Talbot Museum, Wiltshire
NT 1524704
Summary
Instantograph folding field camera 1888, half plate size, by J. Lancaster & Son with patented Rectigraph lens. Lancaster plate holder for two half plates. Camera is mahogany with cherry red tapered leather bellows, brass and copper fittings and patented lens. Lens is encircled with copper which is engraved with "J. Lancaster & Son 1/2 pl Patent Birmingham Rectigraph". Iris diaphragm. No shutter or lens cap. The focal screen is missing. Small leather tab attached to side of focal screen frame.Circular hole in baseboard and inset screw fixture for affixing to tripod. Bellows have double extension.Two metal manufacturer's plates on the top engraved with "LANCASTER & SON BIRMINGHAM" and "THE 1888 PATENT INSTANTOGRAPH". Plate holder is wooden with brass hinges and clips and small leather tab. Inside is painted black, with space on either side for a half plate. Set into wood on the exterior is the tarnished Lancaster metal shield with "J...Opticians ...L", the engraving is partially obscured. Each side has a sliding folding panel, hinged with black fabric tape. On one side is painted in gold "6" and in a different black font "1". On the other side is the painted gold number "5" and black "2". Each side has a modern sticker with "5 Pan" and "6 c/168 1888 LANCASTER".
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