KAUFFER, France PHOTO-SAC A MAIN

9x12cm, 2nd model, case-concealed collapsible strut camera, stamped inside PHOTO-SAC B.K. BREVETE, nickel fittings, 2 internally stored dark slides, Colmont Paris rectilinear lens in a rotary shutter, some restoration. Invented by Bernard Kauffer and patented on the 23rd February 1895 and manufactured by Charles Alibert of Paris. Their prototype, believed to be the only example ever made is a simpler design, angular in shape and has in the past been described as the first model. There are however two types of production models which are distinctly different, the 1st model (earlier model) is a case-disguised hand camera and has a polished wood interior, the 2nd model is a case-disguised strut design with leather covered interior and was probably manufactured slightly later (see Abring III p219). Our current understanding is that this camera is one of only four known examples that were commercially manufactured, some sympathic restoration. Literature: J.P. Francesch (1993), Les Appareils Photographiques Francais, Lothrop & Auer (1978), Die Geheimkameras, Auer (1989), The Guide To Antique cameras