c.1907 Seneca No. 9 Folding Plate View Camera, B&L lens in Unicum shutter

Seneca No. 9 folding glass plate camera, 3~1/4 x 5~1/2" postcard-format, Bausch & Lomb lens in Unicum shutter. Made circa 1907. Leather-covered wood body; Black polished-wood interior; Double-extension bellows. This listing includes the camera, lens/lensboard, (4) wooden film holders, (2) original 3~1/4 x 5~1/2 glass plates (still coated with emulsion), and its leather carry case. Rare, the 4 x 5", and 5 x 7" Seneca's are much more common.

CAMERA has ground glass back and finder, the bottom swivel-latch for the ground glass back is missing, so please be careful when you unpack (it also maens that the ground glass back does not sit snugly against the camera). Leather-covered wood, with leather handle on top. Slide-in label at the bottom of the standard reads: "Seneca 9, Seneca Camera Mfg Co., Rochester, NY". Focus adjust works smoothly. Movements include rise/fall/shift/tilt, with the tilt accomplished by a geared mechanism that sets the angle of the door/track (knob is pull/rotate on the right side of the "box" body). Rotating back (but... sorry, I forgot to check that it rotates, and the camera is already packed.) Fluid in bubble level must have solidified, the bubble does not move. Folded it measures about 6~1/2" square x 4" deep, and weighs in at 3 lbs 10 oz.

LENS/SHUTTER is marked "UNICUM, Bausch & Lomb Opt. Co., Pat. Jan 6 '91" [1891]. And, around the circumference of the lens: "4x5, Rapid Rectilinear". Lens looks pretty good, I don't see any scratches ... might be a little fungus inside ... or, it might just need disassembly and cleaning. Shutter speeds all work, and although I can not attest to their accuracy, they do look about right to me, see the video in the photo section. Speeds are: 100, 50, 25, 5, 2, 1, B, T. Diaphragm works smoothly through its range, and there are no missing leaves; range is f4 to f64.

The Unicum shutter is an ingenious design that uses a pneumatic piston to regulate the shutter duration. Since the air is vented at a constant rate upon shutter release, the length of the piston stroke, -- which is preset when you cock the shutter -- determines the shutter duration. The left piston is the regulator, the right piston is for remote shutter release, accomplished by attaching the hose from an air bulb to the bottom fitting (note that the right one has a hole in the bottom, while the left does not).

ONLINE REFERENCES:

• Scott's Photographica
• Patent no. 444361, issued Jan 6, 1891 to George F. Kincaid, filing date Mar 7, 1889.
• Camerpedia's Seneca 9 page, and Unicum shutter page ... "one of the best shutters of its time".
• Encyclopaedia Britannica page

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Also included:

(4) WOOD PLATE HOLDERS, two of which have "PAT. 4-23-07" pressed-stamped into the wood, one is stamped "KORONA" large black-ink letters on the inside. Spring-loaded mechanism to hold the glass plate. (2) glass plates are also included.

LEATHER CARRY CASE that holds the camera and plates. Lots of wear, torn closure flap, slightly musty smell. Case measures about 12 x 4.5 x 7".

A fine old antique camera ... would look great in your home or studio!