This extraordinary early quarter-plate-size wet plate collodion camera not only has a wonderful Dallmeyer 2B lens, the camera itself was manufactured by Dallmeyer. According to the Dallmeyer archive, the lens was made on October 14, 1864, definitively dating this to the Civil War era. It is a gorgeous camera, which appears to be made of walnut. Curiously, in this camera the front is stationary and the back moves, but there's no tailboard. The support for the back standard slides in a grooved panel on the bottom board and passes to the front, not the back.
I've never seen another like it. As is typical of English cameras of the era, it has fine dovetailing and all the brass screws are'clocked,' with perfectly aligned heads (64 of them in all).
The screw heads were then sanded down and covered with the lacquer finish. There is an ivory plate on top with Dallmeyer's name. The lens is also signed and carries a 82xx serial number.
The rack and pinion work as they should. This lens also has a removable insert in the front; according to Eastman House historian Mark Osterman, this was to give the option of converting it to a landscape lens by removing the rear element and moving the front element to the back. The inserted stop at the front would allow it to focus as a single lens achromatic. I have never seen another Dallmeyer with this feature.
The lens measures 6" long, with a 3.5" diameter hood. It weighs 2.5 pounds. The Waterhouse stops are missing. Fully extended, the camera measures 13 long. The box is approximately 7" wide and 7.5" tall.
The item "1864 Dallmeyer Sliding Box Wet Plate Camera with 2B Dallmeyer Lens" is in sale since Sunday, August 9, 2020. This item is in the category "Cameras & Photo\Vintage Movie & Photography\Vintage Cameras\Other Vintage Cameras". The seller is "hamiltonelectric" and is located in Corte Madera, California. This item can be shipped to United States.