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RareBLAIR FOCUSING WENO HAWKEYE NO.3 Made 1902-03 Only!
Thisis a rare & unusual camera. It takes roll film but can be focusedon its built-in ground glass screen. It was made by Blair in 1902,but in 1904 it was superceded by their Combination Hawkeye camerathat had a flip up back &was the same as the Screen Focus Kodak of 1904. But both are derivedfrom this original Blair.
TheNo.3 model takes 118 roll film to give 3.1/4 x 4.1/4 inch images. Thefilm is loaded in a special roll holder unit that recesses into thecamera top. Pressing a button on the front right allows the rollholder to be pulled up from the top of the camera body. At the sametime an in-built focusing screen moves forward into the film planefor focusing.
Totake a picture the roll holder drops back down, & the groundglass automatically moves out of the way. You then pull out thetambour type dark slide from the top of the roll holder.
Toload the film, a hidden lever inside the front of the roll holder isused to release the roll holder back. The internal woodwork isstamped Blair Camera Co, Rochester, NY, Patented Feb 23,1880 & Nov 5, 1895. The top is stamped with the serial number68.
Interestinglythe roll holder back incorporates a film counter. It is unclear howthis is operated unless the roll films had a notch at each exposure.Certainly this feature seems not to be documented anywhere.
Ihave seen pictures of other cameras with the roll holder removed fromthe camera body. This should not happen as it is retained by twoscrews in the film chambers.
Thelens is a Goerz Doppel-Anastigmat Series III, 120mm, no.136709. Therear door has a London retailers plaque so that is probably why ithas a top quality German lens. Other cameras found on the web seem tohave generic American Rapid Rectilinear lenses. The lens looksreasonably clean. Apertures are f6.5-45.
Theshutter is a nice brass Bausch & Lomb pneumatic type. It isspeeded 1-100, T&B. It works well, although the slowest speedsdown to 1 second operate too fast.
Thebeautiful red bellows are in excellent condition. They are doubleextension, & when fully extended the camera focuses to about 8inches! This is obviously the point of a screen focus camera. Thecamera has a rising front, so it is a very versatile camera. There isa nice all wood reflecting viewfinder on the baseboard.
Overallthe camera is in lovely condition. The beautiful wood interior &lovely red bellows make it a stunner. Usually the carrying handle/roll holder lifting handle is missing. Also the leather over theconcealed buttons is destroyed on most cameras. See the pictures. Youwill not easily find another one like this!
Isell my spare cameras as collectibles. I try & describeeverything as well as possible, but most have not been tested withfilm.
#PAYMENT:I prefer Paypal in GBP for all payments. If you wish to pay by anyother method, please ask. ##POSTAGE:Shipping will cost:UK15EU29Worldwide39
###Overseas shipping has Signed For & insured air mailincluded in the price.
Goodluck with your bidding.
Takea look at my other collectible cameras too!
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Category: Cameras and Photography:Vintage Photography:Vintage Cameras:Folding Cameras
Location: West Malling