Sirene Camera

Wünsche

Name:	Sirene
Type:	Combination Camera
Manufacturer:	Wünsche
Country of Origin:	Germany
Construction:	Leather covered wooden body; rear section containing film can be removed (with dark slide inserted to prevent exposure of film) to allow focussing on a ground glass screen or use of a plate holder.
Production Period:	Unknown

 

Plate / Film Size:	¼ plate
Lens:	Missing
Shutter:	Missing
Movements:	Rising & cross front
Dimensions (w x h x l):
Date of this Example:	c1903
Serial Number:	Serial 65911 stamped inside top edge of back, revealed when the two halves are separated. Repeated on extreme edge of inside of back.
Availability:	Common  Uncommon  Hard to Find  Scarce
Inventory Number:	255

<Photographs to be added>

Description

The Wünsche Sirene camera provides a focussing mechanism not unlike the Screen Focus Kodak where a dark slide can be introduced (missing) and the back removed, complete with film, to allow a ground glass focussing screen to be used (missing).

The bellows are in good order and appear to be brown in colour. The central plate section of the camera has its own tripod bush on a face that is hidden when assembled, and must therefore have been intended for independent use as a plate camera without the rollfilm back.

The viewfinder is missing from the lens board. There are also screw marks suggesting that perhaps the spirit level was once mounted there (although this may have been a later addition anyway).

Notes

Originally thought to be a Manhattan Wizard Duplex No 1 (and sold as such) but after discussion on IDCC this was identified quite conclusively as a Wünsche Sirene. It matches the photo and description in McKeown [1].