May Fair Folder

[Doug T.]

Hi All!

I need some help with a camera I saw on e-bay.

It's a May Fair folder, made in England I guess, and is being listed for a very low starting bid by a reputable seller.

It's in rough condition, but has a nice art-deco look to it.
My question is, would it be worth bidding on as a project?
Is it worth the trouble?

The starting bid is low enough, but I don't know anything about this camera.
Help!

Doug

[mickeyobe]

Doug,

According to McKeown's 12th edition. Page 407.
May Fair Folding.
Folding camera with Novo Ray lens in 3 speed shutter.
Attractive eye-shaped decoration.
Premium camera made by Houghton-Butcher Mfg. Co. Ltd.
Not listed in catalogues.
$20 to $30.

Mickey

[Doug T.]

Hi Mickey!

I've got the McKeown's, but that doesn't really say much about it.
I suppose the name on the lens is enough to warrant trying to get it.
Novo Ray

[Doug T.]

Hi All!

I've been looking and found a very nice site on old folders.
According to them, May Fair was a brand of cigarettes in Britain,
and these cameras were given as premiums.

Here's what the one I bid on looks like. This is someone else's photo, not mine.
They take 6 X 9's on 120 film.

Doug

[mickeyobe]

Doug,

I think it is peculiar enough to make it desirable.

Mickey

[Berndt]

The question is always, what you want to do with it. If you really want to take pictures with it, you should ask the seller at least, if the shutter is still working. If the lens is dirty, it's usually no problem, because they are mostly easy to clean on those folders.

If cameras are not ultra rare items, the price mostly depends on the fact, if the camera is still working or not ... and how much the camera is desired by somebody. The question, you have to ask yourself before going into the final gamble at an auction is: How much do you desire it ? I often saw auction going pretty high, just because one guy wants it at all costs. Then, it is getting dangerous and you might either loose the game or pay too much in the end. The Mc Keown's camera price guide might work for cameras, which can be often seen at auctions, but if a camera appears there just once in a blue moon, it is not really reliable, I think.

You always need to make your mind up for a price, YOU want or would pay for it. Others may correct me, but what I noticed from watching auctions, there are always certain rules. Camera dealers are watching auctions permanently and detecting every item ... but they do have their limits ( because they want to sell the camera for an estimated higher price later ). You can check that by looking, how many items your competitors are buying and selling. It they are leaving the game, mostly real collectors are left and going higher. Therefore, you have to set up your price in your mind. The real bargains are made by just luck. If not being a professional dealer, not all camera collectors are watching all auctions regularly. So some treasure stay undetected, which is our chance Or ... what often happened to me, the camera is declared wrong ... as "unkown plate camera" or the Clover Six, I got very cheap. The seller declared it as "Lover Six"

Good luck !!! The camera looks beautiful on the picture and if it is still working, I wouldn't be surprised, if it would reach the 100$ mark as well.

[mickeyobe]

I wonder how it folded up.

Mickey

[Doug T.]

Hi Marco!

I did not win the bidding
It looked like the one you've got posted on the left.
I've read (if I remember correctly) that Mayfair was a British cigarette maker, and that the cameras were given out as a premium for buying their cigarettes.
I liked the design as it looks almost like an eyeball on the front.
They're very nice.

Doug