Bellows Wet-plate Camera

1890s

J. Fallowfield

London

England

Lens:

Petzval type lens, fixed aperture.

Construction:

Mahogany body, leather square cornered bellows. Dovetail joints.

Format:

4 ½" x 4 ½" wet-collodion plates held in dark-slides.

Focusing:

Bellows to 2' 4".

Movements:

Rising front.

Notes:

Address on camera: Central Photo Stores. Charing Cross Rd. London. W. (1890 - 1923).

With:

Wet-plate dark-slide. Focusing screen. Brass lens cap.

This is a typical wet-plate camera made from around the mid 1860s. This example was made much later probably in the early 1890s. Fallowfield was established in 1856 but did not move to Charing Cross until 1890. The lens also appears to be of this period.

Wet-plate cameras (for non-process work) of this period are unusual but some amateurs still used the older method. Lancaster advertised wet-plate slides for their cameras into the 1890s.

Further Information:

Information on the Wet Collodion Process.

Company Details:

Fallowfield

Early Photography