Edwardian Camera on Tripod Stand
Description / Expertise:
Edwardian Sanderson Ensign half plate camera, on hickory tripod stand, circa 1910 - 24" diam x 65"h set up - Sanderson Cameras
Sanderson cameras, both field and 'Hand and Stand' forms, are based on F.H. Sanderson’s patent of 1895. This describes how the lens board is held between two pairs of slotted struts, a screwed bolt, connected to the lens board, passes between the slots to clamp the lens board to the struts. When unclamped the lens board is free to move vertically, tilt and move forward or backwards. This allowed the photographer to roughly focus and compose the subject, then with the struts unclamped a single movement would move the lens board to critical focus and bring the rising front into play. On later models there would be pre-set catches to set the front standard in a vertical position.
The second aim of the Universal Swing Front was to allow the camera baseboard and therefore the tripod to remain level and do away with the necessity of tilting the camera and tilting the back. When taking subjects such as buildings a problem would be the amount of foreground shown on the screen, to overcome this the photographer would tilt the camera up, this will introduce converging verticals which was remedied by tilting the back so that it was vertical. In Sanderson’s design the camera bed is kept level and the lens is raised, for which there is ample rising front available, and tilted as required. A test took place in Cambridge in 1897, the results were widely reported in the photographic press and substantiate Sanderson’s claim for his camera over the use of tilting back models.
Frederick Herbert Sanderson was born in Cambridge in 1856, he worked as a cabinet maker and wood and stone carver. As a photographer he specialised in architectural subjects, not finding a suitable camera for his purposes led him to design the Universal Swing Front which is the basis of the Sanderson camera. He died in July 1929.
The cameras were sold by Houghton and made by Holmes Brothers of Islington who, at the time, were associated with G. Houghton & Son and later (1904) formed part of Houghtons Ltd.
TitleEdwardian Camera on Tripod Stand
StatusSOLD
Ref6485
PriceSOLD
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