Posted 10 years ago
magnusen5
(3 items)
I believe this was an item from my grandfathers photo processing dark room early to mid 1900's. it measures 12" X 10 1/2" X 3". It is a wood box with a pencil holder built into it on bottom. It opens one way to reveal a tilting mirror at the bottom & opens the opposite way to reveal a place it seems to put a picture or negative. Can it be a part of a photo enlarger? It is well built with dovetail corners. What is it?
It might be a contact printer. Photographic paper is sandwiched together with the negative and then exposed to light through the diffused glass. The masking visible in the 1st photo would allow a smaller image (negative) to be printed in the center of a larger piece of photo paper.
Or it might be light box for negative retouching. That would explain the pencil holder as well.
Thank you Kydur!
This is definitely a plate or negative retouching frame (as opposed to a contact printing frame). These date anywhere from the late 1880s to sometime after 1900.