Appareil Dubroni

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The Appareil Dubroni is a box camera for wet collodion plates. It was invented by Jules Bourdin and was produced from 1864 to 1870. "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.[1] The interior of this camera is lined with glass or 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.[1] The chemical solutions were put into and out of the camera with a bulb pipette. 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.[2]

The camera was made in four sizes:[2]

  • No. 1, or Photographie de Poche, for 4 cm round exposures on 5 cm square plates[1]
  • 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)[3][4]
  • No. 4, for 8x10 cm or 9x10 cm exposures

Early Photography shows a No. 1 camera in some detail, and explains the processing sequence.[2]

Dubroni also made more conventional cameras.


Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Dubroni Photographie de Poche outfit: camera (a No. 1, for 4 cm round exposures on 5 cm square plates) with Dubroni Petzval lens and amber glass interior lining, plates, chemical bottles, pipette and wooden outfit box, sold at the November 2003 Westlicht Photographica Auction; several excellent photographs.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Dubroni No. 1 at Early Photography.
  3. Dubroni No. 3 outfit, near-complete, including a wooden tripod, sold at the December 2010 Westlicht auction.
  4. Dubroni No. 3 (camera only), sold at the November 2003 Westlicht auction.


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