Thornton-Pickard Ruby
The Ruby is a wooden folding field camera made by Thornton-Pickard from about 1890 to 1907.[1] Intended for use on a tripod, the folding bed includes a turntable. The design was changed to make the camera also usable as a hand camera.[2]
McKeown states that the camera has a 'Ruby' Rapid-Rectilinear lens.[3] This is mounted on a Thornton-Pickard roller-blind shutter on the front standard.
The Royal Ruby is a very similar camera, introduced as a high-specification version of the Ruby in about 1900,[4] and continued in production for some years after the standard Ruby was discontinued. McKeown states that all Royal Ruby cameras are triple extension (allowing close focus, or long-focus lenses).[3] Examples exist with roller-blind shutters on the lens board,[5] and with a built-in focal-plane shutter.[6] There is also a half-plate stereo model.
The Special Ruby, strangely, was introduced as a lower-specification version of the Ruby, also shortly before the standard model was discontinued.[3] Wood and Brass shows an example from 1909-12, with a spring back (for easy insertion of dark slides in front of the focusing screen) and with triple extension;[7] the notes state that these features were among those left off the Special at first, and that they were reintroduced in about 1908, so the camera is very similar to a standard Ruby. McKeown lists the special Ruby as double extension.[3]
Ruby 4×5 inch image by Geoff Harrisson (Image rights) |
showing the later style back image by Geoff Harrisson (Image rights) |
Special Ruby 1/2 plate image by Geoff Harrisson (Image rights) |
Notes
- ↑ Half-plate Ruby of about 1897, at Wood and Brass.
- ↑ British Patent 22136 of 1895, Improvements in Photographic Cameras, granted to John Thornton and Edgar Pickard, and describing changes to a stand camera 'such as is well known as the Thornton Pickard Ruby Camera' to make it suitable for hand-held use as well as on a stand; at Espacenet, the patent search facility of the European Patent Office.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 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). p918.
- ↑ Royal Ruby in half-plate and full plate sizes, dated by the site owner to about 1900 and 1907 respectively, at Wood and Brass.
- ↑ Half-plate Royal Ruby outfit, dated by the auctioneer to about 1925; camera, T-P wooden tripod, two lenses and several front shutters, sold at the fifteenth Westlicht Photographica Auction, on 23 May 2009.
- ↑ Half-plate Royal Ruby, dated by the auctioneer to about 1904, with built-in T-P 'Unit' focal-plane shutter, offered for sale at the tenth Westlicht auction, on 18 November 2006.
- ↑ Half-plate Special Ruby, about 1909-12, at Wood and Brass; this example has triple extension and a spring back. Its shutter is missing from the lens board.