1893 Mars Detective Camera w/Plate Holders & Plate Changer * Near Mint & Working For Sale
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1893 Mars Detective Camera w/Plate Holders & Plate Changer * Near Mint & Working:
$1676.00
Make sure to check out all of my auctions after you look at this one. I\'m listing an eclectic assortment of antiques and collectibles, and I suspect there will be something of interest to just about everyone.Here\'s a beautiful, working and marvelously unique Mars \"detective\" camera manufactured by Emil Wunsche in Dresden ca. 1893. As you can see in the pictures, the camera is in superb condition throughout and still retains what other Mars cameras are typically missing, such as its original plate changer, its original plate holders, its original lens, its original back, its original manufacturer\'s ID plate on top, its original strap, etc.
As you can also see in pictures, the camera features -- in addition to its original mechanical shutter, which is still working properly, including the threaded speed control -- what might have been the world\'s first electrical shutter control. Whether this was added by the original owner or perhaps customized by Wunsche himself, I obviously couldn\'t say, but clearly it\'s ingenious for its time. It works as follows:the two small green coils that you see adjacent to the shutter mechanism inside the camera (when viewing it from the back) are in fact an ancient electromagnetic relay which connects to an external power source (such as a Leyden jar battery) via the two brass binding posts you see on the side of the camera. When energized, the relay opens the shutter window. When the current is disconnected, the shutter closes. This relay would have allowed the camera\'s owner to place the camera surreptitiously on a shelf in a room and control its operation from another room, or even another floor ini the same building, enabling the photographer/detective to capture his unsuspecting subjects en flagrante.
As you can see in the pics, the camera\'s condition overall is exceptionally nice, and other than a replacement binding post nut and a replacement bead on one of the shutter strings, it appears to be original throughout, including the finish. Morever, everything from the focusing mechanism to the plate advance mechanism to the mechanical shutter to the electric relay appears to be working properly. The spirit level is hazy, there\'s some writing in pencil adjacent to the lens (about aperture settings), and there\'s an age-related separation in the wood on the camera\'s face. All of these minor issues are visible in the pics, but to cite them at length is frankly to split hairs, because if you\'re looking for a top drawer example of a Mars detective camera, you\'re not going to find one much better than this.
That\'s about it. I will pack it carefully and properly. Auction participants with no prior feedback history should also contact me before placing a bid. Buyer prepays and includes shipping. Paypal okay.
