HF The History of Photography 600pág

3 1 Hand, pocket, and detective cameras
The characteristics of the new apparatus which began to flood the market after l 880
were compactness, simplicity in manipulation, and light weight. There were four
main types of camera-change-box, magazine, roll-film, reflex-in all of which it was
possible to take a large number of plates or films in quick succession, which meant
constant readiness for action. Of the many available sizes, the quarter-plate established
itself as the favourite for amateurs in Anglo-Saxon countries, 9 cm. x 12 cm. being the
equivalent for amateurs on the Continent.
CHANGE-BOX CAMERAS
In these, glass plates or cut films, usually twelve in number, were contained in a
separate change-box which was attached to the camera and permitted the plates to be
changed in daylight. It was derived from the plate changing bag, a contrivance put
on the market for the first time (as far as is known) by the London firm T. OTTEWlLL
in l 8 54. By means of this bag, which had light-tight sleeves, the photographer could
transfer the prepared paper into the dark-slide in the open air, and after exposure
transfer it back again into its box via the bag. The change-box was somewhat on the
lines of a film-pack cassette, and was usually fitted with an automatic counter to
indicate the number of plates used. Each plate was contained in a separate sheath, and
after exposure the plate was lifted into a soft leather bag attached to the top of the
box, and then manipulated behind all the other plates, which meant that the next
plate was now pushed into the focal plane. The prototype of this kind of change-box
seems to have been one invented by J. A. FORREST for the paper process in 1854. 1
Such change-boxes were-like roller-slides-made in various sizes to fit the back of all
standard cameras. The first for dry plates was patented by T. H. BLAIR in l 880, but it
was only after the introduction of an improved type with a sleeve in 1884 that they
began to find favour.
MAGAZINE CAMERAS
In magazine cameras a number of plates or cut films (usually twelve to forty) were
stored in a magazine or chamber inside the camera itself, the plate being changed after
Fig 53 each exposure by some kind of mechanism, differing in almost every camera model.
The magazine camera has a much earlier prototype than one would expect from
the date at which it began to establish itself. It has its origin in the calotype period
and is the invention of MAncus SPAULING, c. 1850 (see chapter 22).
In some magazine cameras the plates were contained in a grooved box attached
to the top or bottom of the camera. They were dropped into the camera and returned