Dom-Martin

1902 advertisement scan courtesy Romuald Swieconek (Image rights)

Dom-Martin was a camera-maker in Paris, around the turn of the 20th century. The company was at some time based at 2 rue Thénard, in the 5th arrondissement, close to the Sorbonne and Panthéon in central Paris. The address in the advertisement shown here is only two streets away from this.

Cameras

• Le Dom-Pliant, about 1903. Strut-folding plate camera, for 9x12cm, or 9x18cm or 8x16cm stereo/panoramic models, as in the advertisement shown here. Body in aluminium, with circular brushed pattern. The front, with lens and shutter, pulls out on folding struts. The hinged ends of the struts engage each other with teeth, to ensure the front remains parallel to the back. The lens is a 120mm f/7 Anastigmat Symetrique, with an iris diaphagm to f/56. The shutter has five instantaneous speeds (labelled 1 to 5), plus 'Pose' ('B' shutter). There is a key on the front to tension it, and separate release buttons for Pose and Instantaneous. At the rear, a lever on each side adjusts the extension to focus the camera, and a tooth on the end of each lever engages with a notched scale on the top of the camera body (a scale on each side); there are notches for 2, 3, 4, 6 and 10 metres. There is a folding Newton finder on the rear body, with a folding pointer on the front. There is also a gridded ground glass screen. There are tripod sockets for each orientation, but the camera seems intended for hand-held use.
• Folding tailboard camera; Wooden (perhaps walnut) body with nickel-plated fittings. Lens is an f/6.8 Rectiligne Extra-Rapide with iris diaphragm to f/64, engraved for Dom-Martin. Overall height and width are given as 22cm x 16cm, so perhaps for 13x18cm plates.

The advertisement also refers to jumelle cameras and detective cameras.