Ilford Advocate

The Ilford Advocate is a white-enamelled die-cast aluminium alloy 35mm camera made in the UK by Kennedy Instruments, a subsidiary of Ilford. It was introduced in 1949 (series 1), and updated in 1952 (series 2) with a larger lens and flash sync; production stopped in 1957. The first batch of series 1 cameras has a chrome pressure plate.

The lens may be a Dallmeyer Anastigmat 35mm f/4.5 (series 1) or f/3.5 (series 2), stopping down to f/22 and focusing down to 3 feet, or a Wray Lustrar 35mm f/3.5. The camera has a rotary shutter, with speeds 1/25-1/200 second, plus 'B', and synchronised for flash on series 2. The flash terminal on the series 2 is a pair of sockets fitted to the side of the lens mount, of Ilford's own design, rather than a (by this time standard) PC socket; the camera was supplied with an accessory cable to connect to these.

Advocate, series 1 image by Jeremy Tilston (Image rights)

Advocate, series 2, with flash sync sockets. image by Charlie Kamerman (Image rights)

Early production chrome pressure plate image by Geoff Harrisson (Image rights)

Links

• Advocate II at the Living Image
• Advocate at Maurice Fisher's Photomemorabilia site, including a link to a pdf copy of the instruction manual for the Advocate II.
• The British Camera 1840-1960 The Jim Barron Collection, Lot 1

Sources

• Hercock & Jones (1979). Silver by the Ton. The History of Ilford Limited 1879-1979, p. 78.
• Andy Holliman (1986, unpublished ms). Face, People and Places. The Cameras of Ilford Limited 1899-1969.
• Colin Harding, 'Great White Hope-The Ilford Advocate' in Photographica World no. 68, March 1994, pp. 32-34.