An Ensign Model B SLR camera.
Houghton Butcher Manufacturing Co.
Category
Photographic technology
Date
1928
Materials
Wood, Leather, Metal, Glass
Measurements
485 x 225 x 307 mm
Place of origin
London
Order this imageCollection
Fox Talbot Museum, Wiltshire
NT 1524854.1
Summary
An Ensign Model B SLR plate camera. The body is wooden covered with black leather and the bellows is black leather. It is a box structure and focusing is via a rack and pinion. The shutter is focal plane with speeds up to 1/1000 sec. Focusing is achieved either using the reflex mirror or the rear ground glass screen. The reflex viewing screen has an integral leather hood. The lens is mounted in a wooden rising front. It is marked 'Ross London Patent 81/2 in Xpres 1:4.5 No 99730'. A plate above the lens reads 'Ensign Reflex Model B, British Made Houghtons London' Below the lens, another plate reads 'Made in England by the Houghton Butcher Mfg. Co.Ltd. London'. There is a carrying handle on the side and a single tripod mount. The format is half plate and the side panel reads 'Patents 15548-08 27461-10'. There is an instruction to set speed before winding. Two numbers are stamped on the body 10187 and 113343.
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
Houghton Butcher Manufacturing Co., manufacturer