A Watkins Queen Bee Exposure meter.
Watkins
Category
Photographic technology
Date
1903 - 1905
Materials
Metal, Silver plate, Card, Ivorine, Glass
Measurements
62 x 44 x 9 mm
Place of origin
Hereford
Order this imageCollection
Fox Talbot Museum, Wiltshire
NT 1525056.1
Summary
A Watkins Queen Bee Exposure meter. It is an actinometer, using photographic paper exposed to the light and compared with card contained in the device with set tint. This is designed in the style of a pocket watch. The silver coloured metal bezel shows the exposure from 130 seconds to 1 500th of a second. The card dial is printed Watkins Bee Exposure Meter and around the edge is printed F stops and plate numbers. The Queen Bee was a de-luxe version of the Bee, silver plated with engraved, rather than stamped, figures. The dial was of ivorine with a print of a Bee on it. Early versions, up to around 1910, have two comparison tints later only a single tint was used. Early models were sold with a fitted case and pendulum.
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
Watkins , manufacturer