Cyko No.4 Magazine camera
J. J. Griffin & Co.
Category
Photographic technology
Date
1899
Materials
Wood, Leather, Glass
Measurements
155 x 130 x 190 mm
Order this imageCollection
Fox Talbot Museum, Wiltshire
NT 1524888
Summary
Cyko No.4 Magazine folding camera manufactured by the Western Camera Manufacturing Co. of Chicago that has been re-badged by John Griffin & Sons Ltd of London. Wooden frame with black leather covering and black leather handle on the top. Lens - three apertures on sector with a fixed focus Shutter - Spring powered, everset. Speeds T & I Able to hold 4" x 5" plates held in internal falling plate mechanism. Two reflecting view-finders. Exposure counter. A door at the back opens to load the plates, a door in the base opens to remove the plates. Tripod bushes on side and base. Markings - on top small white plastic circular plate "CYKO No.4. John J Griffin & Sons Ltd, London" and stamped inside back door is 104878 and G Gatrell (3 times). The shutter was patented in the United States by Victor Odquist and John C. Fyfe, the changing mechanism was patented separately by Harry D. Haight and Lincoln L. Cossitt. In Britain a single patent was issued to Haight and Cossitt. In 1899 the Western company merged with others to form Rochester Optical & Camera Co., which later (1903) was bought out by the Rochester Optical Co., part of Eastman.
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
J. J. Griffin & Co., distributor