Beschreibung:

Very rare, America Daguerreotype quarter-plate camera with chamfered front and back. Early type with internal sliding box. Within a few years of the original Daguerreotype cameras, the first uniquely American style evolved with chamfered front and back. Unlike the French 'drawer type' sliding box style, the early American style has an internal sliding box for focusing that moves entirely within the camera. The exterior of the camera retains its simple, elegant form covered in rosewood veneer. Two hinged doors on the top allow access to the focusing box, which has slots for a plate holder and to a viewing screen. The viewing screen is present with this camera. There is no maker's name on the camera, which is common on the early American Daguerreotype cameras. The lens is engraved '1100 L. Chapman New York' with American style radial drive, a correct lens for this camera. The lens seems to be missing the rear group, but despite of this the focal distance is correct for portrait photography. Also included is the very rare and interesting original tripod. A cast-iron yoke connects the three legs to an adjustable centre post. At the top of the centre post is a sloping shelf, hinged at the front, and adjusted with an original wooden screw to tilt the camera. Adjustments right or left are made by pivoting the camera on the shelf, which is slightly wider than the camera for this purpose. American factory-made daguerreotype cameras, such as the chamfered box or the later Lewis bellows box designs, are highly desirable and rarely come to market, especially with their original tripod. The camera comes from a private collection of James McKeown and is illustrated on page 238 of McKeown’s “Price guide to Antique and Classic Cameras”, 12th Edition 2005-2006.