Camera, Film & Plate Camera Austral No 1, Baker & Rouse, Australia, 1897-1908
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1897 - 1908
The model is an Austral No 1A Film & Plate Camera. It is likely to have been made by another company - imported from England and re-badged by Baker & Rouse. Box camera with spring mounted metal film/plate holder. Film or plate size was approximatley 3 x 4 inch. The camera has a very basic lens system with an f-stop wheel in front of the lens and a feet measurement lever to determine focus.
This object complements the Kodak Heritage Collection of products, promotional materials, photographs and working life artefacts collected from Kodak Australasia in 2005, when the Melbourne manufacturing plant at Coburg closed down. Box camera covered in black leather with spring mounted metal film/plate holder. There is a narrow leather handle on to of the camera and various dials and levers around the camera.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 4
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- black leather, metal
- Dimensions
- Overall Dimensions: 118.5 mm (Length), 100 mm (Width), 115.5 mm (Height)
Technical characteristics
- Maker recorded
- Baker & Rouse Pty Ltd
- Place recorded
- Australia
Design
- Marks and inscriptions
- On a small white circle on the front of the camera above the lens, written in balck text: Film & Plate Camera / Austral / No 1A Below the lens on a small metal plate: BAKER & ROUSE PTY LTD / AUSTRALIA
Identification
- Source note
- Transcribed from the Museums Victoria, Melbourne collection record for this single object (sentences kept verbatim apart from removed sale or rarity wording); how far it represents a wider collectible type has not been independently verified.
- Candidate id
- mv-2305011
- Museum object name
- Camera - Baker & Rouse Pty Ltd, 'Film & Plate Camera Austral No 1', circa 1897-1908
- Holding institution
- Museums Victoria, Melbourne
- Museum object number
- HT 55110
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: confirm the wider type, maker and dating against a specialist reference; this entry documents one recorded example.