Wizard Duplex No 2 Camera
Manhattan Optical Company
| Name: | Wizard Duplex No 2 |
| Type: | Combination Camera |
| Manufacturer: | Manhattan Optical Company |
| Country of Origin: | US |
| Construction: | Combination camera where the rollfilm back is an adaptation of the No 3 Folding Pocket Kodak camera body. |
| Production Period: | Unknown |
| Model / Variant: | Model B |
| Plate / Film Size: | No 3 FPK rollfilm and ¼ plates |
| Lens: | "Plutar" Extra Rapid Aplanat, F8 |
| Shutter: | Ensign Sector I |
| Movements: | Rising front |
| Dimensions (w x h x l): | |
| Date of this Example: | c1902 |
| Serial Number: | Serial 1687 stamped inside bottom edge of back, revealed when the two halves are separated. |
| Availability: |
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| Inventory Number: | 410 |
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Description
The Wizard Duplex No 2 is a combination camera, that is, one that is capable of taking pictures on plate or rollfilm without the latter having to be unloaded from the camera.
It is a rollfilm camera that provided a focussing mechanism not unlike the Screen Focus Kodak where a dark slide can be introduced (present) and the back removed, complete with film, to allow a ground glass focussing screen to be used (present and complete). Bellows are in good order and are maroon in colour. Cross front.
The camera carried a full name below the lens, and fits the description in McKeown [1] which shows the No 2 model. McKeown also states that this model was originally sold in England. Certainly this would explain how it came to be fitted with an Ensign shutter.
Inside the back reads "Roll Holder for No 3 Folding Pocket Kodak Film" followed by a set of patent dates (latest is 1902) and then it states "Made by Eastman Kodak Co.". The fittings for the rollfilm are Kodak standard, although the back clips are not the normal FPK pattern.
Notes
The only significant problem with the condition of this example was that it was obvious on delivery that the camera had been exposed to damp in its recent past and the aluminium back was badly corroded. To conserve its condition, the leather was removed, the oxidation scraped off, sanded and then treated with metal primer before gluing the leather back in place.