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Au Bon Marché Détective de choix |
 Version française |
Manufactured or assembled in Inconnu from (Circa) 1900 to (After) 1903.
Index of rarity in France: Rare (among non-specialized garage sales)
Inventory number: 20119
See the complete technical specifications
Chronology of cameras Au Bon Marche
Au Bon Marché is a large department store, which became a luxury store, founded in 1838 and located on the left bank of Paris. It still exists but has been called Le Bon Marché since 1989.
In the field of photography, Au Bon Marché was a distributor, meaning that the department store sold cameras under its own brand that were manufactured by third parties without changing their specifications, but by masking the references to the manufacturer and changing the name of the model, including that of the lens. The cameras sold by Le Bon Marché don't always have a name; they often have to make do with a type (such as a view camera, detective camera) followed by a number or their format.
This Détective de choix is a large wooden parallelepiped covered in leather. It was sold for 65 francs at the beginning of the 20th century at the photography department of the Au Bon Marché store.
The interior of the camera is divided into two parts. The upper part holds 12 plates of 9 x 12 cm, held in place by a lock. They are pushed forward by a large spiral spring. Controlled by a rotary knob on the top of the camera, the lock releases the exposed plate, which tilts and falls into the lower part. This system also operates a progressive counter.
The camera has two viewfinders, protected from light by a flap containing a mirror that allows for the straightening of the visualized image. It also features two Congress-threaded tripod sockets.
The shutter's cocking and shutter speed adjustment are done on the front face using two other rotary knobs. One indicates: closed, open, cocked, and the other: extra-fast, fast, slow, and bulb. A screw (which is missing in the presented example) allows adjusting the shutter by turning it to A or R.
The shutter can be released either by a push-button on the side or by using a bulb.
The lens, mounted on helicoid, is an extra-fast rectilinear lens by H. Duplouich without specified focal length. The aperture values are indicated by numbers from 1 to 5.
While it cannot be affirmed that they come from the same manufacturer, this camera bears similarities with Détective à décentrement de Cadot: same leather pattern, same elements for adjusting controls and closing the back.
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