Army & Navy Field Camera

Army & Navy Auxiliary C. S. Ltd. (Retailer)

Name / Model:	Unnamed Field Camera
Manufacturer:	Army & Navy Auxiliary C. S. Ltd. (Retailer)
Country of Origin:	United Kingdom
Construction:	Lightweight field camera of very shallow depth once folded. Solid baseboard with tripod bush.
Production Period:	Unknown

 

Plate / Film Size:	½ plate
Lens:	Missing (should be a T. T. & H Cooke Series III - see below)
Shutter:	None
Movements:	Rising front, tilting front, tilting back with limited swing
Dimensions (w x h x l):
Date of this Example:	c1907
Serial Number:	None
Availability:	Common  Uncommon  Hard to Find  Scarce
Inventory Number:	536

Description

Lightweight ½ plate field camera in very fine condition. This is very well made and cleverly structured field camera; it is of very shallow depth when folded and lightweight. It carries a label for the "Photographic Department / A & N Auxiliary C. S. Ltd. / Francis Street / London SE".

ClicPic Photos copyright © 2009 David Purcell. Do not use without permission. Click small picture to enlarge.   ClicPic Gallery Software.

A few weeks before buying this, I was asked to help identify a camera that was marked with a label for the Westminster Camera Exchange. A fellow collector found an advert for a Fallowfield Peritus in the BJPA (1907) that was very similar. However the outline shown in the Fallowfield advert appears identical to this A & N camera.

It is very unlikely that Fallowfield were the manufacturer, as they generally retailed other makers cameras. Some were apparently made by Henry Park, but a date of 1907 would be rather late on for this to be likely. The dates given Channing & Dunn [2] entry for H Park doesn't seem to rule this out though, and certainly the quality of the build of the camera is right for a maker such as Park.

The camera has an unusual fixing for the lens standard, using a release catch at the bottom to allow the inner panel to swing so that it can fold up into the baseboard.

The camera has dark maroon double extension, square section, tapered bellows.

The camera has a rising front (note the unusual sprung brass catch), tilting front, tilting back with limited swing.

Notes

Sadly the seller split the lens from the camera and sold it as a separate lot, without mentioning the fact in the listing. This is a particular shame as it was a fine quality Cooke lens, which I think also has a special mount on the lens to fit the patented mounting ring that remains on the camera.

The detail for the lens that was sold separately is "Cooke H.D.Taylors Patent Series III 6.5"x4.75" EQ Focus 7.55 inches".