Black Beauty

4x5 variant image by Uwe Kulick (Image rights)

Seneca's Black Beauty was a very carefully made folding bed plate camera for use with 3¼×5½ inch postcard format film plates. Of course it was styled in black except some nicely chrome plated metal parts. The body was covered with black leather. Even the housing of the little turnable reflecting type viewfinder was lacquered carefully in black. The Black Beauty was a kind of luxury variant of a common plate camera. It was available in a quadratic variant with exchangeable back, allowing the user to switch from postcard format to 4x5 inch large format. Another version was made for 4x5 inch format. The cameras were offered in variants with different lens shutter equipment:

1. Simple lens in UNO shutter for speeds I(nstant), T(Time) and B(ulb).
2. Rapid Convertible 3¼×5½ inch lens for three focal lengths (6 1/4", 10 1/2", and 14 1/2") in Wollensak Regno shutter.

imaging samples (simple lens):

postcard format variant, loaded with Seneca film plate holder image by Uwe Kulick (Image rights)

Links

4x5 variant, seen with a Seneca Chautauqua image by Uwe Kulick (Image rights)

• Black Beauty on the Medium Format Photography Megasite [1]

imaging samples by Uwe Kulick,

this one on new Polaroid Type 100 "Chocolate" made by Impossible