Mystery camera No. 2 .....

Comments

Marcel Safier December 20, 2015 0:43

Hi Tom, I can't remember the context of my original post as I know full well that is a process camera, in fact, I know the camera being operated by your father well as it is the one now owned by Sandy that unfortunately did get submerged in the 2011 Queensland floods.
Tom Worthington December 19, 2015 23:01

Marcel Safier asked "Is this a Hunter Penrose process camera" (November 30, 2010 at 8:45). Yes, this is a Hunter Penrose camera being operated by "Jack" Worthington (my father, identified by an uncle) at the Queensland Survey Office in Brisbane in October 1949. This photo appears in "Lost Brisbane : and surrounding areas 1860-1960" (2014) captioned '"Hunter' Process Camera , Survey Office, October 1949'. And is also in "Mapping history: Photography and mapping" and "Queensland Survey Department", page 2, 1 Sep 2006 captioned "Hunter Penrose camera" .

Reference

Cohen, Kay., Donovan, Val., Kerr, Ruth.,. Kowald, Margaret., Smith, Lyndsay., .et al. (2014). Lost Brisbane : and surrounding areas 1860-1960. Brisbane, Qld The Royal Historical Society of Queensland, with QBD The Bookshop http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/192484691
Marcel Safier April 22, 2011 12:47

Sandy Barrie's camera was way to heavy to float across a room! It was stored in a large steel shed not his house and it did tip off the boxes it was sitting on. There is a photo of it after the flood waters had receded on my website www.tinyurl.com/cameraholics. The B&W photo I posted earlier shows it in its heyday. I own its baby brother. Cheers! Marcel, Brisbane, Australia
Michael Wong December 1, 2010 13:04

As they say, Gordon, it's not about the size but the performance!
So if you can upload some images taken from your equally impressive Meagher to share with fellow BPH members, that would be great!
Gordon Rankin December 1, 2010 11:23

Well I thought my Meagher wet plate studio camera was big but I can't compete with yours . So how about the strangest,I have a Circumbra by Pearson & Denham of Leeds circa 1990 circular leather bellows, full rotating back 6 1/2 x 4 1/4 inches,with an A Laverne Paris lens and shutter. The shutter I believe to be a Newman Pneumatic patent.
Marcel Safier November 30, 2010 21:41

Thank Michael. I know Brian who is not exactly around the corner since he lives in New Zealand and I am in Australia! My Hunter Penrose from around 1920 is a process camera and is made from Spanish mahogany. I managed to find a Taylor, Taylor & Hobson process lens to suit. Cheers! Marcel, Brisbane, Australia
Michael Wong November 30, 2010 16:48

Thanks, Jeff. Must be quite a sight to behold seeing the old lady and the boy with your camera on the bus! According to the maker, Scadden, "All mahogany construction, much of it triple laminated for strength. It has been made as a studio wet-plate camera and isn't designed for outdoor use although it could be if you have a trailer ! Rear tilt and swing movements as well as vertical and horizontal front movements. Has a Dallmeyer lens with a focal length of around 24 inches. Plate size is 20 x 24 inch. Weighs a ton and takes two to lift it. Made for Ben Cauchi, a wet-plater from Wanganui for use in his studio. "
Further photos of this beast can be found here.
Jeff Gould November 30, 2010 15:11

I always thought my Sanderson was big, 12" x 15" negative size. (large orange for scale) But yours are amazing. I bought mine nearly 40 years ago from an old lady who had used it for wedding photogrpahs when she was young. She told me she had a boy to help her carrying the bag on the bus to go to the weddings !
Jeff Gould November 30, 2010 15:08
Michael Wong November 30, 2010 9:40

I have to kowtow to you, Marcel, as I think you have the mother of all cameras!
The one I posted is actually located just round the corner from you. It measures 80cm square and stretches out to more than a metre and weighs about 60kg. Built by long-time photo-historian and collector of the cameras, Brian Scadden of New Zealand.
Care to break your friend's record?