This was made in a simple single flap version for studio use and a model with two flaps. The two-flap model was made in sizes up to 5" lens diameter. Around 1901 a single flap model was made with electrical contacts to fire a magnesium flash. The shutters were advertised in Britain until around 1914.

To use the shutter the lower flap is pivoted down away from the opening. The shutter is fired by a pneumatic release, this expands a bulb inside the shutter which presses on a lever which raises the top flap against the pull of a spring, as the top flap rises so the arm on the outside of the shutter picks up a cord attached to a wheel, as the cord is lifted the wheel turns which pulls the lower flap up over the opening. When the pneumatic pressure is released the top flap is pulled down by the spring.

A letter in the British Journal of Photography in 1909 notes that M. Guerry was nearly 70 but still making shutters at his home in Paris.

The 1883 patent by R. Reynolds and F.W. Branson shows a similar shutter except the flap is powered by a coiled spring. When the flap is 5/6 through its movement the drop-plate, previously held by the top of the flap, is allowed to drop. A pin is at the bottom of the shutter to catch and engage the drop-plate and prevent it rebounding. The drop-plate could be held by a screw at the top of the shutter when not in use. The 1884 patent by Branson alone has no spring but employs a weight on a lever to control the flap. Branson went on to patent further developments of the shutter.