An Al-Vista Panoramic camera, Model 5b
Category
Photographic technology
Date
1900
Materials
Wood, Leather, Metal
Measurements
180 x 290 x 180 mm
Order this imageCollection
Fox Talbot Museum, Wiltshire
NT 1524898.1
Summary
An Al-Vista Panoramic camera, Model 5b. The body is wooden with metal internals and it is covered with black leather. The camera uses 5 inch wide roll film and the width of the picture can be varied. The focal panel is curved and a vane sweeps the field to form the image. The lens for this unit is missing but the mount is in a leather panel allowing rotation to form the image. The top of the body has a leather handle, a ball level and a frame counter. There is also a shoe to take a viewfinder. A plate reads ‘Patent applied for’. On the rear of the body is a plate stamped ‘Al-Vista Panoramic Camera, Multiscope & Film Co, Burlington, WI, USA.’. There is also a chamber for spare film. Perhaps surprisingly, there are two tripod mounts (side & base).
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.