Blair Camera Co., (Boston, MA)
Blair Hawkeye Roll Holder Variation 1 - c. 1891
4 x 5
5 x 7
Message
on Dark Slide
Disassembled
Label
Notes:
The Boston Camera Co. marketed the first Hawkeye Detective Camera 1888-1890. It was a focusing 4x5 box camera with a ground glass viewing/focusing screen. The company was purchased in 1890 by the Blair Camera Co., and continued to produce the Hawkeye. The Hawkeye design had, like many hand or self-casing cameras of the time, a storage area behind the focusing screen. This space originally stored 3-4 plate holders, but it was also perfect to house a roll film holder. The wooden case for Blair's version of a roll holder for the Hawkeye does not disassemble, like the Eastman Roll Holder Variation 1; rather, upon unfastening the two small clips at the top enough to yank on the finger-ring, the entire mechanism pulls up and out, leaving the wooden shell behind. The other variations of the Eastman Roll Holder have cases that disassemble, making it easier to access the guts.
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