Rare to find in this large 10" x 8" format, this superbly-made Victorian wood and brass folding plate camera came from the workshops of William Watson of High Holborn, London. William Watson founded his business in 1837, moving to the High Holborn premises in 1861 (pictured) thereafter trading as William Watson and Sons from 1882. Most likely this camera dates to around 1890. Click here to see a short video clip.

This super example showcases everything that made cameras by this maker so special. Constructed from only the best, carefully sourced close-grained Spanish mahogany, this camera has fabulous hand-crafted dovetailed joints, brass reinforcement to the corners cut with equal precision and with each and every screw slot being carefully aligned! The beautiful square-cut leather bellows are operated by a straight-cut rotating pinion extension and the camera itself is fitted with a rising front and rotating back and tilting back. It comes complete with an equally well-made brass-bound double dark slide plate holder. The Rapid Rectilinear lens is engraved for the retailer Lichtner & Company of Sydney, Australia, who were prominent importers of fine-quality British cameras in the 19th Century.

As can be seen in the pictures, this is a large camera measuring 34cm in height and 60cm long at maximum extension. It makes for a fabulous display piece but could also be brought back into use if you have the requisite skills.

Condition: This fine quality camera survives in fabulous condition. The woodwork is simply superb, still retaining its original French Polish with excellent colour and shine and only very minor scuffs. All of the brass work is still protected by its original lacquer, again with only minor marking and oxidation. The bellows are very good with minor edge wear and fully light-tight with the exception of a couple of corners to the top front, visible in the photographs and easily repairable. The spirit level, stitched leather handle and original makers plate are all present and in good condition. The ground glass focusing screen is in good order. The lens barrel is good. The lens optics are free from chips, cracks and fungus but the couplets - both front and back - do show some balsam separation of around 25% which will inevitably have some bearing on image quality, likely resulting in a slightly 'soft-focus' effect. This can be clearly seen in the video clip. Potentially the couplets could be carefully separated and re-glued, though this is not something I have time to do. The camera has been tested and focusses correctly onto the ground glass screen. The DDS is in good order, with typical light wear consistent with age and use. It is believed to be original to the camera and is a correct fit.