Wood Camera Obscura

Manufacturer Unknown ca. 1830

Ex-collection Michael Kramer

From the Latin for “dark room”, the camera obscura pre-dated the photographic camera and was used principally as an artist’s sketching device and for entertainment. It lets light in through a small lens opening on one side and projects a reversed and inverted image on the other.  A slanted mirror projects the image onto ground glass for viewing.

The country of origin of this camera obscura is unknown, but likely English or American  It’s constructed of walnut and has butt joints and dovetail joints (inner box) and a wooden lens surround which is an indication that it may be quite early, possibly pre-photographic, before 1839. The attention to detail is evident in the wooden cover for the door hinges, the wood molding securing the ground glass, the indentations in the sides to facilitate sliding out the inner box, and the door closing latch.  It measures 5 1/4” wide by 3 3/4” high by 8 1/2” deep (closed) and 10 1/4” deep (open).

Recent Provenance:  I purchased it from Michael Kramer in 2023 who purchased it from renowned collector, Sam Westfall, around 2010.  Sam Westfall bought it at the Bievres Photo Fair in France.