Can anyone identify this photographic tool?

[Alice Gordenker]

Can anyone help identify the 'photographic tool' (no. 103) shown below?

[Saya Honda Miles]

Hello Alice,

I'm sorry if you have already found the right answer, but I've just found quite a similar equipment in the Print Meters page of this website below.
http://www.earlyphotography.co.uk/site/entry_D81-0.html
Please take a look!

Best wishes,
Saya

[Simon Robinson]

I did use a wooden frame like this in my darkroom days to contact 120 film frames. It turned up in a box of bits from my grandfather. I hadn't realised (though I should have) it might be so old. It'll still be around somewhere though it's a while since I did any wet photography...

We also still have a homemade enlarger which my father built out of old paint tins somewhere in the 50s! Make do and mend eh?

[Alex Tymków MA ARPS]

Hi Alice,

These were called Actinometers, for making test strips. They were used for 'sun printing' or in the darkroom.

[Alice Gordenker]

Thank you for the input. I will look into the Paterson lead you've provided. I'm new here, and failed to get the explanation I wanted in the original post, which is this:

This belonged to a 19th c. Japanese photographer named Yasu Kohei (1846-1917). We don't know the purpose, but are guessing it was some sort of graduated exposure box. It's going into an exhibition in March and I have to figure out how to describe it in English.

[Patrick Lovering]

I remember the Paterson one with the flaps. if the numbers are printed on the glass I would think its something similar. As Colin said pop a piece of paper in then reveal as per seconds on glass.  Patrick

[Colin Dixon]

Hi Alice,

It's difficult to see from the photograph but could it be a form of test strip printer in a box? Maybe each segment could be flipped up and the strip of paper underneath then builds up a series of exposures. I think Paterson made something similar to this concept.

 

Best wishes

Colin Dixon