Beautiful British Mahogany & Brass Half Plate Camera Outfit C.1880-90. Antique. For Sale

This photographer\'s outfit is a rare find. Clearly originally put together by a travelling or working photographer, and still in fine condition. Please bear in mind that it is over 100 years old, so not mint!Included are the following.William Hume of Edinburgh Half Plate Mahogany, Leather and Brass camera, with brass lens. The lens is engraved Wray,London.3 Double sided Half plate , plate holders.Brass focusing loup. (Heavy signs of wear).Black focusing cloth.3 - red, green & blue glass filters - for dye transfer colour photography. This was in use before colour film was invented, and could give superb colour resulImperial Exposure Meter. (Actually an exposure calculator).4 dishes for processing.Red darkroom lamp, oil fuelled.1 box plates, by Marion & Company.2 glass bottles. Now empty. 1 glass bottle with sodium thyosulphate, fixertive.1 Box/packet, film developer, later than the camera.Wooden rack for draining and drying plates.Tripod head, velvet covered, and tripod legs.Please Note. These increase the overall weight considerably and would need to be shipped separately. Shipping costs are calculated without the tripod.Empty packet labelled \"Developers for Imperial plates\", \"Pyro-Soda Developer.\"
The camera has a septum for taking stereo photographs with the existing lens.The outfit including all the above, except the tripod, weighs 14.1 kg. This is approximately 30 lbs.This travelling photographer had quite a burden. To give some idea for comparison, in the days when film was the only medium available, I had a job to do in Venice, where negatives were needed the same day. I could carry my 2 Nikons, an exposure meter, and chemicals and developing tank in a shoulder bag to complete the assignment. Loading film into the tank was carried out inside the wardrobe in my hotel room, and the negatives washed in the sink.This outfit would have needed to be carried on horse and carriage or porters trolley, and a use of a darkroom a necessity.
The camera is of course made with very fine dovetails,of mahogany, with dark burgandy coloured leather bellows.Please look at my photographs, and feel free to ask any questions you still have, before offerding.Approximate shipping cost, with door to door tracking.
To France,Germany 32 GBPs for standard express, 3-4 days.To USA 87 GBPs standard express, 3-4 days.
Remember, if you want the tripod, sadly it would involve extra shipping cost.Approximately 25 GBPs Europe, and approximately 35 GBPs to USA. The tripod is very early, and has spikes for stability in soft ground.This outfit is a great item for collector or a museum.Please only offer if you are serious. Although there is a two week period for you to change your mind, once I have shipped it, any return shipping has to be paid for by the buyer under rules, and packed extremely carefully. I can guarantee that I will do that for you.

On 29-Apr-17 at 09:01:54 BST, seller added the following information:

I have been asked about the condition of the lacquer of the brass lens. It is in original beautiful golden colour with hardly any sign of wear. This applies also to the glass.