Dudley Nourse South Africa International

This is a Signed Photo Of Dudley Nourse at the age of 13 and was found amongst my Grandfathers effects. I have done some digital anhancing because the original was in a bit of a state. Obviously taken some years before he came to fame yet because of that quite unusual.

georgroy1934@googlemail.com

WET PLATE CAMERA BY R.W.THOMAS

WET PLATE CAMERA SEARCH

My primary interest is in wet plate, or indeed any cameras made by Richard Wheeler Thomas1823-1897. Mr Thomas was Photographic Chemist whose business was at 10 Pall Mall London.
I have found, according to R C Smiths "Antique Cameras". That in 1889 Thomas was granted a patent for the Jumelle camera. In the 1885 BJPA they have a page of advertising including Thomas's Bellows Body Camera, the improved Kinnear or Conical Bellows Camera. Thomas's Landscape camera for dry plates, and a complete set of apparatus for dry plate work.
I have yet however to find a physical instance of any one of these. In particular I am keen to find another of Thomas's improved Kinnear or conical camera. I own such a camera as shown below. This is a Wet Plate whole Plate camera having the label " R.W.Thomas Manufacturer 10 Pall mall London". The Camera has the facility for both landscape and portrait format by means of a rotating back. It is of superb construction with many hand cut dovetail joints and all of the many reinforcements and fittings being inset, as is practically all of the brass ware.

Mr Thomas was a remarkable man, famous for his "Pall Mall Plates" reputed to have earned him £2000 per annum. He is frequently mentioned in the correspondence of William Henry Fox Talbot, was associated with Nicholaas Henneman (Photographer to the Queen,). also with Sir John Herschel (astronomer) whose portrait he took for inclusion in Sir John Bowrings' book " The Decimal System in Numbers Coins and Accounts". He wrote the book "The Modern Practice of Photography" which I would highly recommend to purists of the wet plate revival. The language though flowery as of the time, gives clear and precise easy to follow instruction.
In 1883 he wrote an article in the "Art Journal" on Photography in Rome. He had a full page advertisement in the "Golden book of India" listing many of his items. There was also a full page advert in the 1862 London Exhibition Catalogue. His sale of Pall Mall Plates were so popular that he built a factory in Parchmore Road Thornton Heath soley for their production.

All of this and yet Alas! I have yet to find another instance of this or any camera made by him despite a thorough search of most of the important collections. Should anyone out there have, or know of, any camera made by R.W. Thomas, then I would be pleased to hear of it and can be contacted as follows.

george_rcolclough@hotmail.com

WET PLATE CAMERA BY R.W.THOMAS

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The reason for my quest is that I own a wholeplate camera which was made by Mr Thomas. It is a beautiful example of Victorian craftsmenship constructed of Mahogany and Brass, see photo.

To date I have been unable to find any other camera made by him. I have discovered that his Son, also R.W.Thomas did apply for camera patents and was a photographer, specialising in portraits of famous sportmen and women.

R.W.Thomas senior was well known in Victorian photographic circles rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous. He supplied Henry Fox Talbot with photographic materials and took a portrait of the famous Astronamer Sir John Herschel for Sir John Bowrings book on decimalisation.

He wrote articles on Photography and was one of the foremost manufacturers of both wet plate and dry plate emulsions. He set up a factory producing the (Famous at the time) 'Pall mall Dry plates'.

He manufactured a 'Travelling Wet-collodion sensetising Tank' made from Mahogany and brass with internal glass tank and watertight lid.

He made and sold albumenised papers.

He wrote about world famous photographers who frequented the Cafe El Greco in Rome meeting there to discus their subject and mentioning Prince Giron de Anglonnes, Signor Caneva, M. Constant and M. Flecheron, this formed in 1850 the photographic clique.

He is mentioned by Nevil Story- Maskelyne. in Henry Fox Talbots letters as making £2000 a year in his manufacture of collodion.

All of this and much more information I have gleaned about R.W.Thomas. and yet I have not found an example of another camera made by him. He labelled his camera:- R.W.THOMAS

Manufacturer

10 Pall Mall London

Should anyone know of another camera made by him, then I would be pleased to hear of it

I will add to this blog as more information becomes available.

This camera is of the wet plate type and has provision for portrait or landscape format. This is acomplished by rotating the back of the camera. The bellows are extended by means of a helical screw mechanism with a winder at the rear of the camera. The bellows are of leather in a burgundy colour. The lens has no markings other than the aperture markings and has no makers name, it is however very similar if not identical to the 'Petzval' style. The lens cap is not original but is one which I made of leather and stained in the same burgundy to match the bellows. I believe that the original lens cap would have been of brass.

Cameraseek