This super rare and super vintage aerial camera make an interesting addition to every camera collection (or camera museum even) out there.
If artifacts and items from a bygone era is your thing, we’re sure our latest vintage find will fascinate you. This very rare item may very well be one of the very first aerial cameras made. It could even be the only one of its model ever made! Go ahead and check it out to see if it’s something you’d like to add to your collection.
Ebay seller virtualmerch listed this item as a rare Lamperti and Garbagnati aerial camera from Milan, which takes 24 plates. Untouched, untested, and unrestored, it comes with an Equator 240mm f5.5 lens by F. Koristka, Milan, a Bowden wire cable release, 24 holders, and the cloth case.
According to the description, the 24 13×18 cm plates are loaded in a chamber on top of the simple camera. Each plate is secured by a septum with projecting lugs at one end. A lever connected to Bowden wire exposes the bottom plate, which swings downward from the lugs and into a side compartment. The camera has a between-the-lens shutter with a single speed of 1/150 second and exposure can be controlled by changing the aperture. This camera’s simplicity, with its single motion doing the entire operations, proved to be a great advantage of the camera.
Interestingly, the listing also points to a French patent that serves as the only evidence that this item was indeed made as an aerial camera. The translated patent text described it as an “Improved camera for instantaneous shooting from above, especially for the use of airplanes, airships, and balloons.”
A camera this rare and with a fascinating history to boot will definitely come with a price tag to match. So, if you’re ready to part with $10,000 for it, go ahead and buy it now at the ebay
Image from the ebay listing by virtualmerch