Plattenkamera Fotocamera a soffietto – "San Francisco...

Title of work and concept: San Francisco Standard 1940. This medium-format bellows camera represents a fusion of vintage mechanics with design applied to art-collecting photography. We are looking at a 9x12 cm plate-and-film-pack bellows camera (generally known as a Plattenkamera or German folding camera with a cart), produced in Germany between the late 1920s and early 1930s. The object has undergone a tailored concept study for a redesign, imagined as used by European tourists on a tour along the American West Coast. After a careful selection among various stylistic alternatives, a coordinated graphic pattern was developed that evokes the era’s historical atmosphere, urban landscapes, and San Francisco icons of the time (including the historic Market Street Cable Car, period theaters, and the city’s famous viewpoints). Technical details: equipped with an antique Vario shutter with mechanical exposure times (25, 50, 100, B, T) and a swiveling reflex viewfinder. Lens: installed is a 13.5 cm (135 mm) Spezial Anastigmat, a standard native focal length for covering the 9x12 cm format. Innovative technical coating applied to the two main faces and the sides: to overcome the typical deterioration of historic leather and improve ergonomics, the body has been coated with a new generation advanced technical material. It offers good resistance to wear, humidity, oily substances, and tactile fingerprints. Ergonomics: provides a pleasant grip, reviving the solidity and tactile feel that was the standard for cameras of the era. The camera is intended as a collection piece but could operate with medium-format film and plates (with its ground-glass screen for rear focusing). Accessories: original reinforced leather/trim top handle for handheld transport. Object condition: aesthetic good, with customized coating. Original metal components with a light, charming patina of age. Mechanical: bellows in good preserved condition, although not tested for resistance to light leakage. Complete shutter mechanism. (Note for the buyer: As this is a customized art piece based on an antique, it is sold as a unique collector/display item).

Estimate:£0.84

View all items fromCatawikiorNautica, Technica & Optic