Half-plate bellows tailboard camera with case

Half-plate bellows tailboard camera, together with interchangeable stereoscopic and single-lens panels, and canvas-covered case, made by W. I. Chadwick, c.1890. Also includes canvas bag and accessories.

William Chadwick (1848-1913) was a Manchester-based teacher of photography, camera designer, and retailer of cameras and magic lanterns. Chadwick did not favour spending money on advertising, which limited his commercial fortunes and has left limited information behind on his cameras.

This camera is thought to have been designed by Chadwick around 1890 and probably made for him by Manchester camera maker Joshua Billcliff. Chadwick was an important figure in the development of Stereoscopic photography, where two images are taken side-by-side to produce a photograph that appears three dimensional when seen through a special viewer. This camera can be fitted with either a single lens for normal photography, or a double lens and divider, patented by Chadwick, to allow it to take stereoscopic images. He seems to have taken particular efforts to produce a lightweight camera design that folded for storage and transport and, in 1890, offering these cameras for sale at £5 and 15 shillings with the claim that “I firmly believe this to be the lightest practical camera (of the best make) ever offered.”