Forrest’s Patent “Due-Ratio” wooden drop shutter, c1888. (the beauty of early camera shutters #5)

Although downright primitive compared to the fancy brass shutters I’ve posted here on CW, this is one of my favorites.

This is a rare, simple external shutter that mounts on the front of a lens or lens hood. The overall size is roughly 3 x 5 inches with a 2 inch diameter mount. It’s nothing more than a slotted mahogany body with a sliding block of wood that acts as the shutter blade.

In the family of drop shutters, this is quite special. When ‘loaded’ and released, a tensioned rubber band or elastic string fires the wooden ‘blade’ upward to start the exposure. The elastic string (or rubber band) stops the block from shooting off the body and gravity pulls-along with the string or rubberband-the block downward to finish the exposure.

In the picture shown here, the left side is the cocked position; tensioned and ready to shoot. The right image shows the blade at the top of its travel.

The shutter makes a terrific ‘clunk’ sound that always makes me smile.