BLAST FROM THE PAST
John Wade takes a glimpse into photography of more than 100 years ago
LAUNCHED 1898
PRICE AT LAUNCH approximately £12 (guesstimate)
GUIDE PRICE NOW £200-250
The full name of this camera is the Bellieni Jumelle Simple à Deux Objectifs. Although the company name sounds Italian, it was based in France, where ‘jumelles’ means binoculars and ‘deux objectifs’ can be translated as ‘two lenses’.
The camera is huge, measuring 21x17x10cm and weighing 1.6 kilograms. A 110mm f/6.8 lens is positioned to one side of the body mounted on a faceplate that moves backwards and forwards for focusing when a lever on the top is pushed left and right. A spirit level on the top of the body helps keep the camera straight while a viewfinder flips up to align with a sight that swivels up from the rear. Glass plates are clamped in metal holders and loaded into the camera, where they are held in place by huge springs inside the sliding back. The shutter is like two small sliding doors that open and close when tensioned by a knob beside the lens, before repeating the action much faster to make the exposure. To prevent light leaking into the body during tensioning, there’s a plate behind the shutter that only moves aside prior to exposure. A handle drawn from the side of the camera pulls the exposed plate across and into another chamber on the opposite side of the body, where it is stored under another huge spring, until ready for removal and development.
