Instantograph folding field camera, 1888
Lancaster and Sons
Category
Photographic technology
Date
1888
Materials
Wood, Brass, Metal, Leather, Glass, Copper
Measurements
Camera open (220 x 225 x 465mm)
Place of origin
Birmingham
Order this imageCollection
Fox Talbot Museum, Wiltshire
NT 1524704.1
Summary
Instantograph folding field camera 1888, half plate size, by J. Lancaster & Son with patented Rectigraph lens. 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 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".
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