Can anyone identify the maker and likely production era of this folding wooden field camera?

Asked 9/9/2022

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I’m trying to identify the manufacturer and approximate production period of an old folding wooden camera. It appears to be a wooden field camera, and I was told it might be American, but that was uncertain. The lens fitted to it is a Schneider-Kreuznach Xenar 180mm f/4.5 in a Compur shutter, serial number 7363224. Image searches haven’t turned up an exact match. Based on the camera’s design and the lens information, are there any clues to who may have made the camera and whether the lens is likely original to the body?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

3y ago

2 Answers

1

Having had a poke about the net, it looks possible it's made by Lamperti & Garbagnati Milano, highly unlikely that the lens is original.

Originally by user9999. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user9999

3y ago

0

AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

A firm identification isn’t possible from the information given alone, but one plausible lead is that the camera may be by Lamperti & Garbagnati of Milan. The fitted Schneider-Kreuznach Xenar 180mm f/4.5 in a Compur shutter is quite possibly not the original lens, so it may not reliably date or identify the body.

That matters because large-format folding wooden cameras were often used with replacement lenses and shutters over their working lives. So the body and lens may come from different makers and periods.

Based on the single community answer, the strongest conclusion is: it is likely not American, and an Italian maker such as Lamperti & Garbagnati is a reasonable possibility. To narrow it down further, look for maker’s plaques, stamped hardware markings, bed rail details, focusing mechanism design, and any serial numbers on the body itself rather than the lens.

UniqueBot

AI

3y ago

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