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Contributed by Deniz Merdanogullari
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Tuesday, 28 June 2005 |
Buying a piece of photographic history
by Deniz Merdanogullari
Well I probably
got you really excited with the title. I also can hear the ladies screaming
at their screen with rage... I am sorry.
But I am a little excited about my new bride, she is a little mature for me
at the age of 100 but she is just as beautiful as a new born baby to me. She's
as Century Camera Co. 11x14 Camera.
You may ask what does the mail order bride part has to do with this article.
Let me tell you… I am an Ebayholic. I look through thousands of auctions everyday
to find good deals on photographic equipment. Both new and vintage. One day
while searching through a less photography oriented part of the web site I
came across an auction with this camera in it. As a camera addict, I had to
watch that auction everyday till it ended. Since it wasn’t listed in a photography
category, the interest level was quite low and with only 1 bid, I won the
auction. I sure was happy to receive my new bride. Maybe I should stop referring
to the camera as my bride, I can hear the angry crowd. 
The worst part about winning an auction is the time you have to spend waiting
for your present to arrive. It will be the longest couple of weeks of your
life, but one day you will come home to a big cardboard box greeting you at
your doorstep. Now that’s an adrenaline rush. (I realized I kind of talk like
a nerd) You quickly run inside and grab a knife and open the box to a million
peanut fillers that cover your entire room floor. You dig out the camera and
there she is, with all her beauty and glory. For a 100 years old camera it
looks absolutely gorgeous.
 One thing
you can be sure you”ll have to change when you receive your 100 years old
camera is the bellows. Bellows were made from leather back then. And leather
is partially alive so it will detoriate over the years if not looked after.
But not to worry, there are many companies out there that will fabricate a
new bellows to go with your camera to make it perfectly functioning. They
will cost you some money but the job they do is perfect and you don’t have
many options unless you want to try your hand at fabricating a bellows of
this size!. Second important part of your new camera is the film back. Make
sure that wood has no splits or cracks that will cause a light leak, also
make sure it is not warped and sits in the camera perfectly with no play.
You are somewhat lucky that 11x14 film holders are of standard size. So it
is quite possibly that a new fidelity holders will work just fine. If that
doesn’t work, S&S holders or filmholder.com will gladly make you customized
holders from exotic woods. Then move on to checking all the movements and
functions on your camera. 
Are all the brass parts intact? Missing any screws, knobs? Everything tightens
down securely? Once you pass those obstacles you are good to mount your camera
on your tripod. For an 11x14 camera you will need a big tripod. I use a surveyor’s
tripod and it will handle up to 20x24 camera with ease. Mount the camera on
and see if there is any play on the standards when you slide the film holder
in and out. And if the wind shakes the camera. An 11x14 bellows will act as
a big sail in windy conditions. So you have to find ways to stabilize the
camera outdoors. Once your camera is in the perfect operation condition, you
will be very very proud to own and use a piece of photographic history. You
can go right ahead and refinish your camera aswell. Remove all the brass parts
and polish them up to a mirror shine with a steel wool and then make sure
you coat them up with clear lacquer to preserve the shine. You can also strip
down the finish on the wood parts with a solvent and sand some parts down
to smooth finish then restain and oil to match the original condition as it
came out of the factory that very day. Welcome to the world of ULF with your
new 11x14 camera.
Here are the vital statistics of the lady :
| Manufacturer |
Century Camera Company, Rochester, NY |
| Year of Production |
1902 or 1903 (from our estimates) |
| Height |
19" |
| Width |
16" |
| Length without extension |
23" |
| Possible length of extension |
18" |
| Back tilts and swings |
Approx 15 deg. |
| Front rise and fall |
Approx 2" |
A note about putting a manufacture date on this camera :
Wooden cameras are difficult to date, few have serial numbers that
could be traced back to date of production. This camera has a number of
clues which points to a 1902-1903 production date :
 First,
the Century Camera Company was created in 1900 (thus the name) and was
aquired by Eastman in 1904. The name changed in 1907 to Century Camera
Div., Eastman Kodak Company, so
any camera bearing the Century Camera Company logo will have been made
between 1900 and 1907, which is already a narrow window. Second, the
front label saying simply "Century", identifies the camera
as a Century View, which were made up to 1903. And on the brass of the
back standard, there is a mention of : "patent pending july 15 1902",
which
leaves only a very narrow window between mid-1902 and 1903 !
Of course this little piece of detective work wouldn't have been possible without the great online ressource that is
the website : "Field cameras of the United States" which is an amazing source of information on vintage wood field
cameras. |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 17 November 2005 )
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