[LargeFormat] REALLY Large Format 30x40

Wed Mar 10 01:56:01 2004

The first time I saw the GEH camera I recognized it as being a F&S
camera. I saw Bel Parks first by 5 years. It too was a F&S. These
were just big portrait cameras! Who better than Chicago big whigs to
have their portrait taken than by a big camera! Do not read too much
into the size. You know very well that in the "ol" days if you wanted
a 4x5 print you used a 4x5 camera. These were just a Photographers
tool in those days. BUT how about the handeling of a glass plate that
big!! I'm doing a Pano shoot in Grand Rapids in June any chance you
and the Donald want to drive over?
Ken

---- Original Message ----
From: LNPhoto@twmi.rr.com
To: largeformat@f32.net
Subject: Re: [LargeFormat] REALLY Large Format  30x40
Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2004 00:51:50 -0500

>I've always wondered what their use was for....my theory is it (now 
>they!) were made for a trade fair....1904 World's fair, &  1901
>World's 
>fair in Buffalo come to mind.  The Chicago fair in '93 was too ealry 
>for F&S.. they were still farming out the construction, and after '04
>
>they were a Division of EKC and George made sure everybody knew it.  
>This one has problems too.  The ground glass was replaced with a
>silver 
>mount/matte board, then they cut slots in the bellows so you could
>see 
>the image from inside the camera.  On the back of the board they
>added 
>information with those die cut letters made for titling home movies
>and 
>the like that were popular in the 50s
>
>Was yours a Folmer and Schwing or just an overly large camera by 
>somebody else?
>
>
>
>
>On Mar 10, 2004, at 12:31 AM, k4sb@niia.net wrote:
>
>> Ditto from me. Now......Drum roll please.....There's another one.
>> In a varnished wood finish. I saw it at Bel Park Photo YEARS AGO!
>> I'd love to know who owns it. Had a B&L APLANET on it in BBL.
>> Bad bellows but nice wood and 2 holders. It was on a  three wheeled
>> carrage. Barney Copeland wanted 2000.00 for it in 1981. Anyone on
>> list have it?
>> Ken
>>
>> ---- Original Message ----
>> From: LNPhoto@twmi.rr.com
>> To: largeformat@f32.net
>> Subject: Re: [LargeFormat] REALLY Large Format  30x40
>> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2004 00:10:48 -0500
>>
>>> I"m not sure which version you know.  I'll tell my version, you
>can
>>> tell his.
>>>
>>> The camera sat in the lobby of the Gannett building (aka Photo
>>> building) at Rochester Institute of Technology for many years
>>> including
>>> the years I was there. I remember marveling at it and even asked a
>>> couple of old timers about it, but nobody knew anything about it
>>>
>>> A couple years back I called master tinkerer PRof Andy Davidhazy
>>> about
>>> a Bausch & Lomb microscope camera I had found and wondered if
>there
>>> was
>>> a market up there for it.  He responded that not only was there no
>>> room
>>> for it, but that he had a bigger white...er  black elephant that
>he
>>> couldn't get rid of.... It seems the lobby was being refurbished
>and
>>> this camera was no longer welcome.
>>>
>>> I told him under threat of life was he was not to allow this
>camera
>>> to
>>> be destroyed.  If nothing else I would rescue it. As I hung up the
>>> phone I had madcap visions of shooting little league groups with
>it
>>> by
>>> putting this beast on some sort of scissor jack in the back of a
>van
>>> a
>>> la Professor Fate's car. He couldn't think of what to do with it
>and
>>> I
>>> have to admit I don't know why I didn't think to tell him to call
>the
>>>
>>> Eastman House.
>>>
>>> Luckily for me somebody did.
>>>
>>>
>>> Todd Gustavson curator of cameras at Geo Eastman House got a call,
>I
>>> assume from PRof. Davidhazy, about this very large, very old
>camera
>>> that had lost it's lease in the lobby and if somebody didn't take
>>> this
>>> thing, it would lose its lease on life.  Todd  was torn between
>>> making
>>> space and saving a piece of history (the camera is 24 x 36 INCHES
>in
>>> format, made between 1897 and 1904 and had a Taylor Taylor Hobson
>>> mammoth plate Rapid Portrait Lens on it from about 1870.)  Todd
>>> looked
>>> into the records and found that a camera with a similar
>description
>>> had
>>> once been in the collection. So he went and rescued the camera and
>>> within a couple of hours found the extension rail that fit it AT
>the
>>> Eastman house!
>>>
>>> It seems the camera collection was a very poor orphan division for
>>> many
>>> years (Ken Hough will say it still is)  there was no room to keep
>>> cameras at the house, so the previous curators would "loan"
>cameras
>>> out
>>> for storage.  This camera had been a part of the Eastman
>collection
>>> many years before, but poor records and bad memories nearly lost
>it
>>> forever.
>>>
>>> And frankly its in a much better place there than here.  If I had
>>> implemented my plan and rescued the camera, I would've had to
>>> convince
>>> my wife that it really was small enough to fit in the house and
>that
>>> I
>>> was too big to sleep in it outside. A tough sell on both counts.
>>>
>>> Les
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Mar 9, 2004, at 10:07 PM, k4sb@niia.net wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hey Les! Ask Gustafson at George Eastman House about that
>"camera"
>>>> Neat story.
>>>> Ken
>>>>
>>>> ---- Original Message ----
>>>> From: LNPhoto@twmi.rr.com
>>>> To: largeformat@f32.net
>>>> Subject: Re: [LargeFormat] REALLY Large Format  30x40
>>>> Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2004 21:46:18 -0500
>>>>
>>>>> I corrected it once, but that post never made it to the list for
>>> some
>>>>>
>>>>> reason...
>>>>>
>>>>> the full url should be
>>> http://home.twmi.rr.com/lnphoto/F&SBIG2.jpg
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Mar 9, 2004, at 8:50 PM, Richard Knoppow wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>>> From: "LNPhoto" <LNPhoto@twmi.rr.com>
>>>>>> To: <largeformat@f32.net>
>>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2004 1:53 PM
>>>>>> Subject: Re: [LargeFormat] REALLY Large Format 30x40
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> here's one a bit bigger, a Folmer & Schwing to boot
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> http://www.F&SBIG2.jpg
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>    This URL doesn't work, is it complete?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> F&S built large copy cameras and studio cameras, I think up
>>>>>> to 11x14 and maybe to 16x20 inches. They were owned by Kodak
>>>>>> for a time and continued to build cameras for Kodak after
>>>>>> they were divested. Kodak sold Century studio cameras up to
>>>>>> 11x14 although they are rare.
>>>>>>   Up to the early 1950's at least 11x14 was not unusual for
>>>>>> advertising illustration.
>>>>>> ---
>>>>>> Richard Knoppow
>>>>>> Los Angeles, CA, USA
>>>>>> dickburk@ix.netcom.com
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
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>>>>>
>>>>>
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