Difference between revisions of "Vélocigraphe"
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The Vélocigraphe was made in | The Vélocigraphe was made in | ||
9×12 cm<ref> Velocigraphe 9x12cm, s/n 1137, with Hermagis Aplanastigmat No.8 140mm s/n 34383, seen in on-line auction (Dec 2013).</ref>and | 9×12 cm<ref> Velocigraphe 9x12cm, s/n 1137, with Hermagis Aplanastigmat No.8 140mm s/n 34383, seen in on-line auction (Dec 2013).</ref>and | ||
| − | 13×18 cm plate sizes.<ref name=CdA>Contemporary advertisements for [http://www.collection-appareils.fr/x/html/page_standard.php?id_appareil=13568 le Vélocigraphe] at [http://www.collection-appareils.fr/carrousel/html/index.php ''Collection d'Appareils'']</ref> A stereo version was made for six 8×16 or 9×18 cm plates.<ref name=CdA></ref> | + | 13×18 cm plate sizes.<ref name=CdA>Contemporary advertisements for [http://www.collection-appareils.fr/x/html/page_standard.php?id_appareil=13568 le Vélocigraphe] at [http://www.collection-appareils.fr/carrousel/html/index.php ''Collection d'Appareils'']</ref> A stereo version was made for six 8×16 or 9×18 cm plates.<ref name=CdA></ref> An article in Hermagis and Rossignol's quarterly magazine/catalogue ''l'Amateur d'Excursions Photographiques'' of January 1897 states Hermagis' intention to make the camera in a 6½x9 cm model,<ref>Hermagis (given as J. Fleury-Hermagis) and Rossignol, N. (editors) 1897, ''Desiderata relatifs aux jumelles photographiques: nouveau Vélocigraphe 6½x9'', in [http://www.e-corpus.org/eng/notices/10504-L-amateur-d-excursions-photographiques-n%C2%B0-3-janvier-1897-.html ''l'Amateur d'Excursions Photographiques'', No.3], pp312-313. (the whole volume available for reading online or downloading as PDF) at [http://www.e-corpus.org/index.php E-Corpus]. It is curious that the Vélocigraphe is referred to as a jumelle; it is not tapered in shape, nor binocular: apparently this term was usable for any compact camera.</ref> but no examples of this size have been seen. |
| − | The Vélocigraphe was perhaps so named to take advantage of the fashionability of cycling; certainly the camera, in its case, and intended for hand-held use, would have been easy to carry on a bicycle. One of the advertisements at ''Collection d'Appareils'' promotes the camera and a '''sommier vélocipédique''' (bicycle mount) for mounting cameras, such as the Vélocigraphe, on a bicycle or tricycle, allowing photographs to be taken while moving.<ref name=CdA></ref> In | + | The Vélocigraphe was perhaps so named to take advantage of the fashionability of cycling; certainly the camera, in its case, and intended for hand-held use, would have been easy to carry on a bicycle. One of the advertisements at ''Collection d'Appareils'' promotes the camera and a '''sommier vélocipédique''' (bicycle mount) for mounting cameras, such as the Vélocigraphe, on a bicycle or tricycle, allowing photographs to be taken while moving.<ref name=CdA></ref> In ''l'Amateur d'Excursions Photographiques'', Hermagis and Rossignol included an article on photographic excursions by bicycle;<ref>Hermagis and Rossignol, 1897, ''Excursions Photo-vélocipédiques'', in ''l'Amateur d'Excursions Photographiques'', No.3 (as above), pp346-355.</ref> An article on the Vélocigraphe in the same issue stresses the ''speed with which successive exposures can be taken'', so the name may also be intended to convey this.<ref>Hermagis and Rossignol, 1897, ''Le Vélocigraphe de MM De Ricard & Lacroix'', in ''l'Amateur d'Excursions Photographiques'', No.3 (as above), pp455-459.</ref> |
Revision as of 12:59, 3 January 2014
The Vélocigraphe is a falling-plate camera for up to twelve plates, designed by Étienne Ricard and Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Lacroix,[1] and made by Hermagis in Paris, in the 1890s.[2] The body is a wooden box; it was supplied in a close-fitting leather case, the front opening to allow it to be used while in the case; all the controls are on the front. It has an Hermagis lens with an iris diaphragm, mounted with a coarse screw thread for focusing. The camera has a behind-the-lens shutter, with seven speeds (numbered 1 - 7 on the control), set by varying spring tension.[3] The shutter tensioning lever also operates the plate-changing mechanism.[2][3] There is a plate counter, in a window in the maker's name plate on the right-hand side. There are Watson-type viewfinders, and spirit levels, for horizontal and vertical orientation.
The Vélocigraphe was made in 9×12 cm[4]and 13×18 cm plate sizes.[5] A stereo version was made for six 8×16 or 9×18 cm plates.[5] An article in Hermagis and Rossignol's quarterly magazine/catalogue l'Amateur d'Excursions Photographiques of January 1897 states Hermagis' intention to make the camera in a 6½x9 cm model,[6] but no examples of this size have been seen.
The Vélocigraphe was perhaps so named to take advantage of the fashionability of cycling; certainly the camera, in its case, and intended for hand-held use, would have been easy to carry on a bicycle. One of the advertisements at Collection d'Appareils promotes the camera and a sommier vélocipédique (bicycle mount) for mounting cameras, such as the Vélocigraphe, on a bicycle or tricycle, allowing photographs to be taken while moving.[5] In l'Amateur d'Excursions Photographiques, Hermagis and Rossignol included an article on photographic excursions by bicycle;[7] An article on the Vélocigraphe in the same issue stresses the speed with which successive exposures can be taken, so the name may also be intended to convey this.[8]
Notes
- ↑ Swiss Patent 3730 of 1891, Chambre Photographique, granted to Étienne Ricard and Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Lacroix on 15 June 1891, describing the cmera, and most particularly the plate-changing mechanism; at Espacenet, the patent search facility of the Europen Patent Office.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 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). p388.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Vélocigraphe serial no. 909 at Early Photography.
- ↑ Velocigraphe 9x12cm, s/n 1137, with Hermagis Aplanastigmat No.8 140mm s/n 34383, seen in on-line auction (Dec 2013).
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Contemporary advertisements for le Vélocigraphe at Collection d'Appareils
- ↑ Hermagis (given as J. Fleury-Hermagis) and Rossignol, N. (editors) 1897, Desiderata relatifs aux jumelles photographiques: nouveau Vélocigraphe 6½x9, in l'Amateur d'Excursions Photographiques, No.3, pp312-313. (the whole volume available for reading online or downloading as PDF) at E-Corpus. It is curious that the Vélocigraphe is referred to as a jumelle; it is not tapered in shape, nor binocular: apparently this term was usable for any compact camera.
- ↑ Hermagis and Rossignol, 1897, Excursions Photo-vélocipédiques, in l'Amateur d'Excursions Photographiques, No.3 (as above), pp346-355.
- ↑ Hermagis and Rossignol, 1897, Le Vélocigraphe de MM De Ricard & Lacroix, in l'Amateur d'Excursions Photographiques, No.3 (as above), pp455-459.
Links
Cameras sold at Westlicht Photographica Auction in Vienna:
- Vélocigraphe serial no. 305, sold at the twentieth auction, on 1 November 2011.
- Vélocigraphe serial no. 831, in its case (with tripod bushes and spirit levels on the case) and with Tele-Objective (a teleconverter, to mount between the camera and lens); sold at the twelfth auction, on 17 November 2007.
- Vélocigraphe serial no. 899, with a folding optical finder on the top; sold at the sixteenth auction, on 5 December 2009.
- Vélocigraphe serial no. 1454, with Aplanastigmat No. 8 140 mm f/6.8 lens, and altered shutter release, and with an accessory shoe and two tripod sockets on the body, sold at the seventeenth auction, on 29 May 2010.
