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Houghtons | The Duchess | Other | Half Plate

FIELD CAMERA | 1900 Restored from the miserable condition it was in when it came to me, but still needs new bellows. A best quality camera, in what appears to be teak, with all movements, double extension, and extra extension by craning the lens board forwards; an idea also adopted around 1900 by several other makers and calling for some intricate wood and brass work. A replacement Thornton-Pickard roller blind shutter, such as would have been original equipment but which was absent when the camera came to me, has been fitted. It has been suggested by one collector that these "Titled" cameras in Houghtons' range, which included the Empress, the King et al., were possibly made for Houghtons by the London and Paris Optic and Clock Co., about whose products a certain amount of mystery obtains in the collecting community. The absence of a badge on this "Duchess", and no sign of a place where a badge might have been, reinforces this hypothesis for me. The camera was identified by comparison with known examples; Channing and Dunn specifically name The Duchess as a model name produced by the London & Paris Optic & Clock Co., whom they describe as "Camera makers to the trade: using the Royalty brand name".

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