Eastman View Camera 11x14 Variation 1

Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, NY

Eastman View Camera 11x14 Variation 1

Eastman Professional Catalog 1929, p.13

Date Introduced: - ; Years Manufactured: c.1925-1930s
Construction: front and rear focus via rack and pinion (two gear tracks on top of base rails); double swing; three-piece lens board; reversing by removable back
Materials: mahogany body; cherry base; black leatherette bellows; brass hardware
Sizes Offered: 11x14 only
Notes:

After having discarded the name Empire State in 1913, in favor of the Eastman View No. 1 (introduced in 1914 as the replacement and improvement of the Empire State). However, the Eastman Views were only made up through 8x10, and in 1915, the Premo Cameras catalog offered (hidden within the pages of the Eastman View No. 1) to make the "regular Empire State" in 11x14. This version of 11x14 only camera, presumably resembling the former Empire State Variation 3, was continued until at least 1925 (references with Empire State Variation 3). By 1927, the Empire State 11x14 was gone and the Eastman View 11x14 was undoubtedly its replacement. One reason for the name change is that the hardware changed from the crooked type rear tilt to the straight type rear tilt shown in the above engraving. This is why the Eastman View 11x14 is here considered a separate model to the Empire State 11x14, even though there is insufficient data (engravings) to confirm this. The straight-type hardware appears to be that formerly used by the Century Camera Co., as in the Century No. 1 and Century No. 2, although other details appear to derive from the former Rochester Optical Co. Empire State models, as in Empire State Variation 3.

There are two variations of the Eastman View Camera 11x14. The catalogs only feature Variation 1, while Variation 2 is slightly different but has a Century label. The Century Camera Co. was purchased by Eastman Kodak, and Eastman View Cameras are very similar to the view cameras made by Century. There is a possibility that this should be referred to as a Century Camera Co. Century View Camera Variation 1.3 because of those similarities.

Eastman View Camera 11x14 Variation 1:
This camera model is advertised extensively in Kodak professional catalogs as well as catalogs from other Kodak dealers starting about 1925 and continuing through at least 1939. Its front standard has the same designe as earlier Kodak view cameras, such as The Empire State No. 1, The Empire State No. 2, and The Eastman View Camera No. 1 Variation 1. Its rear standard forward/back swing hardware is straight, however - identical to the hardware used in Century Camera Co. view cameras in the early 1900s, and apparently never used on any Kodak view camera since 1903. Why did they use a 20 year-old Century design for one-size large camera when every other view camera they had made after 1903 had a dog-leg design, e.g., The Eastman View No. 2d? The answer can be found the description of each camera model advertised in the Eastman catalogs, specifically, the sizes made. Of all the view camera models made by EKC, none was offered in a size larger than 8x10. But the Century View Camera No. 1 did offer an 11x14 size. Eastman must have inherited, when they bought the Century Camera Co., either a supply of already made 11x14-sized swing hardware, or the dies and instructions to make the parts. The engineering of part thickness and size had already been proven - why re-engineer a slightly different part.

Century View Camera/Eastman View Camera 11x14 Variation 2:
This camera does not seem to be illustrated in any Century Camera Co. catalogs nor any Eastman Kodak Co. catalogs. It is identical to the Eastman View Camera 11x14 Variation 1 except for the hardware that supports the front standard, in that the supports on this camera wrap around the front of the standard legs, whereas the supports on Variation 1 do not wrap around. Given that it has a label that reads Century, and furthermore is identical to the Century Camera Co. labels used 1901-1903, and there are no Eastman stamps or other markings, this camera could indeed be from that era, rather than the era of a Variation 1 (i.e., no earlier than c.1925). On the other hand, Variation 2 has a front rise featuring a rack and pinion and a thumbscrew attached behind the lens board - just like the front end of Variation 1, so there is a good chance that it is from the same time period as Variation 1. In that case, why the Century label?

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