A Newman & Guardia Universal Special B camera.
N and G.
Category
Photographic technology
Date
1907
Materials
Wood, Metal, Leather, Glass
Measurements
150 x 132 x 230 mm
Place of origin
London
Order this imageCollection
Fox Talbot Museum, Wiltshire
NT 1524831.1
Summary
A Newman & Guardia Universal Special B camera. Universal cameras are essentially large box cameras or, as they were known at the time, Detective Cameras. They were fitted with view-finders as well as the facility to use a rear focusing screen. As the name implies N&G regarded the Universal as an all-round camera equally suited for hand-held use or on a tripod in place of a field camera. The body is wooden covered with brown leather. Focusing essentially extends the length of the box. It is fitted with two pairs of spirit levels and two tripod bushes. The lens is a Cooke with apertures f6.5-f45. Shutter speeds vary 1/2 to 1/100 sec. The front will both rise and shift. The number 3210 is marked on the top and there is a leather carrying handle. The panel of controls is marked 'N&G B Cooke' Inside the rear door panel is a pencil mark '1/8/07 W.J.M'. There is a chamber towards the rear holding the magazine and focusing screen. Under the hinged cover is stamped 'SB1979'. A metal plate reads 'Newman & Guardia Ltd. 90 & 92 Shaftsbury Avenue, London W' Inside the front panel is the serial number 200964.
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
N and G. , manufacturer