Difference between revisions of "Appareil Dubroni"

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The '''Appareil Dubroni No 1''' or ''Appareil Dubroni de poche'' was a box camera for wet-collodion plates. It had been invented by Jules Bourdin and was produced from 1864 to 1870. "Dubroni" was a character-remix of the name Bourdin. The interior of this camera was made of glass or porcelain. For each exposure the sensitization and development process could be done in 13 steps inside the camera. Therefore the chemicals for sensitization, development and fixation had to be filled into and exhausted out of the camera with a pipette.
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The '''Appareil Dubroni''' is a camera for wet collodion plates, made by [[Dubroni|Maison Dubroni]] in Paris for a few years from about 1864. The smallest models are box cameras; the larger ones have a bellows front for focusing. The interior of the camera body is lined with glass (in the early models; indeed, McKeown states that the first cameras had no wooden sides, only an amber glass 'bottle'<ref name=McK>{{McKeown12}} p251-2.</ref>) and later porcelain, so that sensitization, development and fixing of each plate can be done inside the camera; this was the first camera to use such a system.<ref name=W1>[https://wlpa.auction2000.se/auk/w.Object?inC=WLPA&inA=4&inO=708 Dubroni Photographie de Poche] outfit: camera for 4 cm ''round'' exposures on 5 cm square plates, with Dubroni Petzval lens, sold at the [https://wlpa.auction2000.se/auk/w.ObjectList?inSiteLang=&inC=WLPA&inA=4 fourth Westlicht Photographica Auction], in November 2003.</ref> The chemical solutions were put into and out of the camera with a bulb pipette. In the smaller cameras there is a large red window in the back of the camera, with a swivelling metal cover (or a hinged wooden one in some models), so that operations inside the camera can be viewed.<ref name=EP>[http://www.earlyphotography.co.uk/site/entry_C80.html Dubroni No. 1] at [http://www.earlyphotography.co.uk/index.html Early Photography].</ref> McKeown states that the largest cameras have a detachable 'laboratory section' at the back.<ref name=McK/>
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The camera was invented by Jules Bourdin; "Dubroni" is an anagram of the name Bourdin; notes to an auction lot at Westlicht state that Bourdin's father did not want the family name associated with his invention.<ref name=W1/>
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The camera was made in ''six'' sizes, the larger ones only made after the small sizes had established the success of the camera:<ref name=McK/><ref name=EP/>
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* No. 1, or '''Photographie de Poche''', for 4 cm ''round'' exposures on 5 cm square plates<ref name=W1/>
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* No. 2, for 5x5 cm or 4.5x5 cm exposures
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* No. 3, or '''Photographie de Salon''', for 7x9 cm ''oval'' exposures (very suitable for portraits)<ref>[https://wlpa.auction2000.se/auk/w.Object?inC=WLPA&inA=18&inO=532 Dubroni No. 3 outfit], near-complete, including a wooden tripod, sold at the [https://wlpa.auction2000.se/auk/w.ObjectList?inSiteLang=&inC=WLPA&inA=18 eighteenth Westlicht auction], in December 2010.</ref><ref>[https://wlpa.auction2000.se/auk/w.Object?inC=WLPA&inA=4&inO=709 Dubroni No. 3] (camera only), sold at the November 2003 Westlicht auction.</ref><ref>[http://www.lecompendium.com/dossier_optique_55_appareil_photo_dubroni/appareil_photographique_dubroni.htm Dubroni No. 3] (camera only, but with a clear photograph of the glass lining), at Albert Balasse's [http://www.lecompendium.com/ Le Compendium] (text in French).</ref>
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* No. 4, with a bellows, for 10 cm-long plates.
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* No. 5, with a bellows and detachable 'laboratory' section, for 15 cm-long plates.
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* No. 6, with a bellows and detachable 'laboratory' section, for 18x24 cm plates.
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''Early Photography'' shows a No. 1 camera in some detail, and explains the processing sequence.<ref name=EP/>
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Dubroni also made more conventional cameras.
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==Notes==
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<references/>
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==Links==
 
==Links==
* [http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/cameras/index.htm?item59 Museum of the History of Science]
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* [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k74250g ''Traité Spécial de Photographie: Appareil Dubroni''], Abbé Villaume, 1875; a photographic guide, presumably published by Dubroni, with special attention to the Dubroni cameras, including instructions for making plates, formulae for chemicals, and descriptions and prices of the cameras; in the [http://gallica.bnf.fr/?lang=EN Gallica Bibliothèque Numerique] at the [http://www.bnf.fr/ Bibliothèque National de France] (readable on screen, and downloadable as pdf or other formats for non-commercial uses).
* [http://www.eastman.org/fm/mees/htmlsrc/mD819300002_ful.html Eastman collection]
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* [http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/cameras/index.htm?item59 Dubroni integral processing camera] in the exhibition [http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/cameras ''Cameras: the Technology of Photographic Imaging''] at the [http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk Museum of the History of Science, Oxford], 20 May - 13 September, 1997.
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* [http://collections.eastman.org/objects/49730/dubroni-apparatus-no-6?ctx=ddccfb98-f8a0-4959-8cf3-b4de18173bee&idx=2 Dubroni No. 6] camera at [http://www.geh.org/ George Eastman House].
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[[Category:instant cameras|Dubroni]]
 
[[Category:instant cameras|Dubroni]]

Revision as of 16:32, 6 July 2020

The Appareil Dubroni is a camera for wet collodion plates, made by Maison Dubroni in Paris for a few years from about 1864. The smallest models are box cameras; the larger ones have a bellows front for focusing. The interior of the camera body is lined with glass (in the early models; indeed, McKeown states that the first cameras had no wooden sides, only an amber glass 'bottle'[1]) and later porcelain, so that sensitization, development and fixing of each plate can be done inside the camera; this was the first camera to use such a system.[2] The chemical solutions were put into and out of the camera with a bulb pipette. In the smaller cameras there is a large red window in the back of the camera, with a swivelling metal cover (or a hinged wooden one in some models), so that operations inside the camera can be viewed.[3] McKeown states that the largest cameras have a detachable 'laboratory section' at the back.[1]

The camera was invented by Jules Bourdin; "Dubroni" is an anagram of the name Bourdin; notes to an auction lot at Westlicht state that Bourdin's father did not want the family name associated with his invention.[2]

The camera was made in six sizes, the larger ones only made after the small sizes had established the success of the camera:[1][3]

  • No. 1, or Photographie de Poche, for 4 cm round exposures on 5 cm square plates[2]
  • No. 2, for 5x5 cm or 4.5x5 cm exposures
  • No. 3, or Photographie de Salon, for 7x9 cm oval exposures (very suitable for portraits)[4][5][6]
  • No. 4, with a bellows, for 10 cm-long plates.
  • No. 5, with a bellows and detachable 'laboratory' section, for 15 cm-long plates.
  • No. 6, with a bellows and detachable 'laboratory' section, for 18x24 cm plates.

Early Photography shows a No. 1 camera in some detail, and explains the processing sequence.[3]

Dubroni also made more conventional cameras.


Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 McKeown, James M. and Joan C. McKeown's Price Guide to Antique and Classic Cameras, 12th Edition, 2005-2006. USA, Centennial Photo Service, 2004. ISBN 0-931838-40-1 (hardcover). ISBN 0-931838-41-X (softcover). p251-2.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Dubroni Photographie de Poche outfit: camera for 4 cm round exposures on 5 cm square plates, with Dubroni Petzval lens, sold at the fourth Westlicht Photographica Auction, in November 2003.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Dubroni No. 1 at Early Photography.
  4. Dubroni No. 3 outfit, near-complete, including a wooden tripod, sold at the eighteenth Westlicht auction, in December 2010.
  5. Dubroni No. 3 (camera only), sold at the November 2003 Westlicht auction.
  6. Dubroni No. 3 (camera only, but with a clear photograph of the glass lining), at Albert Balasse's Le Compendium (text in French).


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