From the earliest days of photography through to the early twentieth century the most popular cameras were those that took a rectangular photographic 'plate'. These 'plates' were generally made of glass, or in the case of the daguerreotype a piece of polished silver, on which the sensitive photographic emulsion lay.

In the 1840s cameras were often made by amateurs or carpenters to fit the lens purchased by the photographer. As the century progressed new companies sprang up which provided lenses, shutters, bellows and in some cases designed the entire camera. By the 1880s companies like Houghton's and Lancaster were producing thousands of different models of camera for the glass negatives, or 'plates', on which almost all photographs were taken.

Production of 'plate' cameras continued into the 1940s but increasingly they were mainly for professional use. The reason for this was the introduction of the roll film camera and the introduction of smaller 35mm negatives.

Geoff Barker, Assistant Curator, December 2007

+ Photography

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