Instantograph (¼ plate, early model)

OBJECT TYPE: Camera
MANUFACTURER: J. Lancaster & Son
NATIONALITY: English
PLACE MANUFACTURED: England, Birmingham
SEE ALSO: Instantograph (¼ plate, improved model)
INTRODUCTION DATE: ca 1882
PRODUCTION DATES: ca 1882-1886
FILM TYPE: dry plate
IMAGE SIZE: 3¼ x 4¼ in.
FUNCTIONAL TYPE: view
STANDARD LENSES/SHUTTERS: 5 in. f/11 Achromatic meniscus
INTERCHANGEABLE LENS: Yes

NOTES:
  "Lancaster's three cameras, introduced in 1882, Le Méritorire, Le
  Merveilleux, and the Instantograph had the lens panel fixed by screws
  passing through slots in the baseboard and locked perfectly well by
  nuts underneath. While this secured the lens panel perfectly well,
  it made it impossible to place the camera on a flat surface. By 1886,
  Lancaster had replaced this method by one in which the front panel
  was clamped to a track on the baseboard by a threaded rod, running
  horizontally underneath the lens and squeezing the two sides of the
  lens standard together." (Coe, 1973).

OBJECT IDENTIFIER: L244.00003

BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES:
Coe, Brian. --Cameras: From Daguerreotypes to Instant Pictures.-- Gothenburg, Sweden: Nordbok, 1978. pp 33.//
McKeown, Jim & McKeown, Joan. --McKeown's Price Guide to Antique & Classic Cameras: 1995-1996.-- Grantsburg, WI: Centennial Photo, 1994. pp 276.//