Plate Box Camera

A wet-plate box camera, made by J.T. Chapman, with nine infills and a glass developing tank.

J T Chapman Limited was established by Josiah Chapman as a medical and photographic chemist in Manchester in 1874, but gradually focused on the photographic side of the business. After an early emphasis on making photographic emulsions and plates, Chapman began offering his own designs of camera. These were initially made for them by other firms, but the company may later have had its own factory. Chapman marketed its own cameras until the early decades of the 20th century, but eventually focussed on retailing those produced by others.

This is an early Chapman camera, likely made for them by another company, and dating from around 1880. The label on the top reads “Chapman Deansgate Manchester,” where the firm had a shop between 1874 and 1883, before moving to Albert Square. The form is typical of many early cameras – a wooden box, with a lens at one end and a place to fit a photographic plate holder at the other end.

Before use, the photographer coated a glass plate with light sensitive chemicals in a dark room, then stored it in a lightproof plate holder ready for sliding into the camera when needed. The camera had no viewfinder. To line up a shot, the photographer put a light-proof hood over the back and looked directly through the lens. When they were happy, they slid the plate holder into place, removed its lightproof cover, and took the lens cap off the camera by hand. Light passed through the lens onto the photographic plate, creating a negative image as the chemicals reacted to light. Photographic chemicals of the day were not very sensitive, so an image could take several seconds to form. After counting the time of the exposure, the photographer replaced the lens cap, and replaced the lightproof cover on the glass plate negative, which could then be developed to make a finished photograph.