Vageeswari

From Camera-wiki.org
Revision as of 17:39, 23 September 2020 by Dustin McAmera (talk | contribs) (Added some info from LFPF and an online obit.)
Jump to: navigation, search

Vageeswari Camera Works[1] was a camera maker in Allapuzha, Kerala, India. The firm was started by K. Karunakaran who, according to obituaries in local news sources, made his first camera when he was sixteen years old.[2] He was the son of a musical instrument repairer. He died, aged 90 years, in April 2016.

He made wooden view cameras in several sizes: according to one British eBay dealer, the most common size is 12x10 inch.[3] Early cameras were made with brass fittings and controls. Later ones have some aluminium parts, and a plywood baseboard as in the example pictured here.

Notes

  1. Vageeswari is one of many names for Saraswati, a Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, speech and art.
  2. The Unsung Hero Who Invented Vageeswari Camera; M.A. Anooj, OnManorama, 20 April 2016.
  3. Re: Vageeswai in India?: a thread at Large Format Photography Forum, post 11 by Chris Birchmore.