Ilford Meter
Vulcanite version
1892
Britannia Works Co. Ltd
Ilford
England
Meter Type:
Calculator.Calibration:
Plate dial marked: SR, II, R, O & IM. Shutter: 1/16 - 2h. Aperture: f4 - f64.Attributes:
Settings for - Hour of day, month. Subject.Notes:
Before 1895 from plates on the plate dial.With:
Pouch. Instructions.Ilford Meter
Vulcanite version
1892
Britannia Works Co. Ltd
Ilford
England
Details as above.
Ilford Meter
Aluminium version with weather scale
1905
Ilford Ltd
Ilford
England
Meter Type:
Calculator.Calibration:
Plate dial marked: O & C, E & RI, SR, M. Shutter: 1/1000 - 2h. Aperture: f4 - f64.Attributes:
Settings for - Hour of day, month. Weather conditions. Subject.Notes:
Mid-1900s from plates on the plate dial.With:
Case. Instructions.Aluminium version with weather scale
Meter Type:
Calculator.Calibration:
Plate dial marked: O, E & C, SR & SC, P & RC, M. Shutter: 1/1000 - 2h. Aperture: f4 - f64.Attributes:
Settings for - Hour of day, month. Weather conditions. Subject.Notes:
After 1915 and before 1923 from plates on the plate dial.With:
Envelope.Cardboard version with weather scale
Meter Type:
Calculator.Calibration:
Plate dial marked: SR & SC, O, E & C, P & RC, M. Shutter: 1/1000 - 2h. Aperture: f4 - f64.Attributes:
Settings for - Hour of day, month. Weather conditions. Subject.Notes:
c. 1920 from plates on the plate dial.With:
Envelope. Instructions.Cardboard version with weather scale
Meter Type:
Calculator.Calibration:
Plate dial marked: O, E & C, SR & SC, AF & RC, M. Shutter: 1/1000 - 2h. Aperture: f4 - f64.Attributes:
Settings for - Hour of day, month. Weather conditions. Subject.Notes:
After 1923 from plates on the plate dial.With:
Slip case. Instructions.Cardboard version with weather scale
Meter Type:
Calculator.Details as previous entry.
Notes:
After 1923 from plates on the plate dial.With:
Envelope. Instructions.The Ilford meter was patented by J.A. Scott and the Britannia Works Co. in 1892. The first version was made of vulcanite, in the late 1890s an aluminium version was added. A few years later, c. 1902, a cardboard version appeared. A scale for weather (sky) conditions was added in 1905. The meter was still offered for sale into the 1930s probably only in the cardboard version.
A combination of dial and table gives the exposure required. The hour and month are combined on a table printed on the reverse of the meter. The dials then combine the plate type (speed), hour/month from the table, weather and subject. The result gives the shutter speed and aperture pairs.
The plate type on these models stands for:
- II - Isochromatic Instantaneous c. 1891
- IM - Isochromatic Medium c. 1891
- O - Ordinary, before 1893
- R - Rapid, before 1893
- SR - Special Rapid c. 1893
- E - Empress c. 1895
- C - Chromatic c. 1897
- RI - Rapid Isochrome 1903
- M - Monarch 1903
- RC - Rapid Chromatic 1908
- SC - Special Chromatic 1913
- P - Press 1915
- AF - Auto Filter 1923
Prices:
- Vulcanite and Aluminium 5/-
- Cardboard 1/-, later 9d