Early camera brings new meaning to "photo shoot"
By
Mike Tomkins
(Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - 16:18 EDT)
Danish photographer and Imaging Resource reader Eolake Stobblehouse dropped us a note to point out an amusingly quirky camera that fetched an impressive £45,000 (US$88,000 or thereabouts) at auction.
OK, it's not digital, but you have to admit that the Photo Revolver de Poche is an eye-catcher. Our rather rusty high-school French suggests that the name translates as the "Pocket Photo Revolver" (OK, admittedly it didn't call for extensive translation!), and only six examples of the design are known to exist. Capable of capturing ten images on 16 x 16mm photographic plates through a lens located in the "gun's" barrel, the Photo Revolver was crafted by gunsmith Albert Posso for French photo company Enjalbert around 1883.
Eolake jokingly suggests that a modern update to the design is called for in these days where innocently toting a camera in the wrong place can result in your being pulled aside for a chat with security guards or law enforcement. While we'd love to see a modern equivalent for the novelty value, we're not entirely sure of the efficacy of bringing a camera to a gunfight!
Also sold at the auction was the first Leica M8 ever made, which fetched an impressive £19,000+ (US$37,000+). Proceeds are to be donated to Reporters Without Borders, a Paris-based organization advocating freedom of the press. A worthy cause indeed!
Thanks to
Eolake Stobblehouse
for this item!
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