New Additions to the Collection........yes, there are a few.

[der84]

I haven't been on here in a month or two but that doesn't mean I've stopped collecting.......

Here are some recent additions to the collection since I posted last....yes I've been busy...haha.

First one up is a KW Patent Etui "Kawee Camera" (1921ish??) Picked up at my local antique store. According to what I have read, the word "Kawee" was given for marketing use in the use in the US. It was a play on words for the company's initials KW. Various shutter/lens combinations were offered with this camera. This particular one has Compur shutter made by F. Deckel in Germany, the lens is Carl Zeiss Tessar f/1:4.5, 10.5cm.

Hosted on Fotki


Next up is a Bilora Boy (1955) larger version then the earlier smaller ones. Made by Bilora in Germany. One of my faves in the collection. Great styling.

Hosted on Fotki


Next: Kodak Baby Brownie Special with original box and manual. (1938-1954) Basically this was a replacement for the Baby Brownie.

Hosted on Fotki


Argus C3 Matchmatic "The Brick" (1958-1966) Alright, so not the original case for it, but it did come with it's clip on selenium light meter and a very cool Argus flash unit.

Hosted on Fotki


Kodak Brownie Bulls-Eye (Gold Version) (1954-1960) I also have the black one too. Came with original box not picture.

Hosted on Fotki


Polaroid 800 (1957-1962) Not really a Polaroid collector, but I do like a few of the older classic models. This is one of them. Came with flash, wink light and carrying case and paperwork. Found at my local antique store.

Hosted on Fotki


Fototecnica Filmor Box camera (1950-1954) Very cool looking box camera made by Fototecnica in Turin, Italy.

Hosted on Fotki


Still reading???............

Univex Minute 16 - Made by the Universal Camera Corp. (1949) Very happy to have found one with its flash unit, original boxes for both camera and flash unit as well as paperwork too. This little camera has been credited as being partly (if not fully) responsible for the Universal Camera Corp. going bankrupt in 1952. Very small camera.

Hosted on Fotki


Very cool looking camera. The Bilora Bonita (1954) pseudo TLR camera made by Bilora in Germany. There was a previous model before this one, called the Bilora Bonita 66, which had a slightly different look to it.

Hosted on Fotki


Coronet Portrait Lens box camera (1935) Cool looking box camera with dual, retractable lens setting.

Hosted on Fotki


Finally.........
Japanese "No Darkroom" box camera aka a "Yen Camera". (1930s-40s???) They were produced by numerous no-name companies in Japan and came with different names. "Baby Camera", "Super Camera" etc....... Mine has a viewing window at the back of the camera (second picture). The film used was a special film that came in single sheets inside a stiff paper holder. Basically you would just point at what you wanted to shoot, look through the viewing window slide the special film into the back slot of the camera, then point and shoot. Very cheap.
Afterwards you could develop your film, even in broad daylight, thanks to the special holders the film was in.

I've added a quarter in the photo for scale. It's definitely a lot smaller then I thought it was.

Hosted on Fotki

Back of camera (viewing window)
Hosted on Fotki

Derek

[Stephen]

The KW Etui was a special camera made by Kamera-Werkstätten Guthe & Thorsch, and laid claimed to being the thinnest folding Plate camera. It was made from about 1911 to 1938, being available as the Kawee in the States from Burleigh Brooks in the mid 1930's.

They were top quality cameras fitted with good lenses and shutters, and I think yours dates from the mid 1930's, and was supplied by Burleigh Brookes, and fitted with the Kawee name plate.

After the 2nd world war KW ended up in state control in East Germany, and made the Praktifex cameras, later becoming pat of VEB Pentacon, and making Practica cameras.

If all works and the bellows is light tight, then fully usable with plate holders or a roll film adaptor like Rollux or Rada.

Stephen.

[philbirch]

A great collection of most unusual cameras. I love the last one, it probably used films with a built-in monobath process system. I used to sell x-ray films of that type. No darkroom needed.

[genazzano]

My compliments. I especially like the yen camera. Historically very interesting little gem.

David

[der84]

May 9, 2015 9:34:49 GMT -5 Stephen said:

The KW Etui was a special camera made by Kamera-Werkstätten Guthe & Thorsch, and laid claimed to being the thinnest folding Plate camera. It was made from about 1911 to 1938, being available as the Kawee in the States from Burleigh Brooks in the mid 1930's.

They were top quality cameras fitted with good lenses and shutters, and I think yours dates from the mid 1930's, and was supplied by Burleigh Brookes, and fitted with the Kawee name plate.

After the 2nd world war KW ended up in state control in East Germany, and made the Praktifex cameras, later becoming pat of VEB Pentacon, and making Practica cameras.

If all works and the bellows is light tight, then fully usable with plate holders or a roll film adaptor like Rollux or Rada.

Stephen.

It is pretty damn small when folded up. Most of the older Folding pocket cameras were pretty big while this one could still fit in your pocket.
I'll have to look at the bellows again, but I'm pretty sure they're light tight. Don't know if I'll ever use it, considering I barely have time to use my regular film cameras...haha. But definitely an option.

[der84]

May 9, 2015 13:26:21 GMT -5 philbirch said:

A great collection of most unusual cameras. I love the last one, it probably used films with a built-in monobath process system. I used to sell x-ray films of that type. No darkroom needed.

Yes Phil,

The "No Darkroom" "Yen Cameras" came with a developing kit. Some you can still find today with their kits. Mine didn't have its original kit though. Still a cool looking camera though.

[der84]

May 9, 2015 14:07:40 GMT -5 genazzano said:

My compliments. I especially like the yen camera. Historically very interesting little gem.

David

It is pretty cool. They also came in little folding cameras too. The late camera collector Eaton Lothrop Jr. had a whole set of "Yen Cameras" in his collection.