Posted 9 years ago
scottefiske
(1 item)
Can somebody please help me out...came about this old camera coming out of an old summer home from the 1800's owned by the "Duponts" of Dupont fortune. Cannot find any manufacturers identification and it use to have one piece of glass that the movers broke.
First what is it, second from what era, third value?
Thank You,
Scott
The first two we can help you with, we don't do appraisals.
rniederman is the man that should be able to tell you more about this.
ok great...and the first two answers are?
Thanks
Scott
You have to wait for Rob to show up, he's the knowledgeable one here in this regard.
In the meantime you can check out his website here;
http://www.antiquewoodcameras.com/
This is a "Carlton Camera" made by the Rochester Optical Company. It was named after the company's founder and the last and finest field camera they made. was named after the founder It was offered from 1893 to 1903. The body style is what we refer to as "English Compact". Value has dropped over the years and I see that the lens and lensboard might be missing. Overall the camera likes nice and the good news is that the maroon leather bellows appears to be intact. Without actually handling the camera to see if everything is intact and working, my best guess is $175 - $225.
Is this the same one Rob?
http://www.piercevaubel.com/cam/roc/carlton.htm
Yep ... that's the camera. Not uncommon or rare but pretty when in excellent condition.
You're the man Rob, if I ever find an old camera I know who to call!
What is the brass piece in pic#2?
wow..you guys are right on the money...Thank You! At least I know what I have now...minus the lens and the glass (which It use to have until movers broke it) everything works perfectly, wood is excellent no cracks, etc. and the leather bellows are perfect as well. this camera sat in cellar for most likely 80 years until I cam upon it.
Glad to help.
David ... the fancy brass piece is a rotating tripod platform. Three pairs of legs would set into the 6 pins (hard to see). This allowed a more portable package. Normally a tripod has a round table and legs. By setting the table into the camera base (nicely designed, BTW), the three pairs of legs are easier to carry around.
Cool, thanks Rob.
should I clean and polish it for sale or dust it off and leave as is?? What do collectors want?
It's okay to dust the wood. Don't do anything with the bellows. Camera collectors want the equipment in its original state.