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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.
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
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