Steinheil Munchen (Germany)
Detective Camera, 1895
| This attractive quarter-plate detective camera was
manufactured in 1895 by Steinheil, a company better known for its optics
than its cameras. The dovetailed, polished wood body is enhanced with
quite a bit of shiny nickel trim, and offers some premium features such as
metal covers for the reflex viewers, a built-in leather plate-changing bag
and a five-speed shutter.
The lens on this camera is something of a mystery. It is an f7.2, 120mm Germania-Anastigmat (reasonable for quarter-plate work) but has no other markings. To date, several specialists in antique lenses have been unable to identify the manufacturer of this lens. Do you recognize it? It is unusual that a company which manufactured lenses for dozens of years as Steinheil did would produce a lens lacking manufacturer data. Regardless of this conundrum, the camera is in excellent overall condition, mechanically and cosmetically. As an added bonus, inside the hinged top door (visible in the picture) is a metal camera dealer's tag (name: 'Alois Vladyka') which indicates that this camera was sold in a small town, Chroustovice, deep inside what is now the Czech Republic. At the time, it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The camera focuses in a primitive, box-in-box style. Notice the scale visible between the two halves in the photo at right. A scale in meters aided the photographer for close-up shots. When the two camera halves were closed, the camera focuses at infinity. |
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