Bellows camera, Owen Angel Exeter
Owen Angel was a prolific Victorian photographer who worked in Exeter for at least 50 years. He specialised in portraits, often producing ‘cartes de visites’, and during his career worked from various premises across the city centre. The name plaque on this camera suggests it belonged to him, as there is no record of his manufacturing or selling camera equipment, and it was likely used in his studios as a main portraiture camera. It is a beautiful piece of Victorian engineering, and on the rear retains his hand-drawn pencil lines to aid the mounting of plates. The leather and velvet lens cover is an unusual survival as these caps often become separated and lost.
Thomas Ross made the lens.
Thomas Ross made the lens.
Object Summary
- Accession Loan No.
- 316/1974
- Collection Class
- Social and industrial history
- Material
- wood | metal | glass | velvet | leather
- Common Name
- bellows camera, Owen Angel Exeter
- Simple Name
- camera
- Inscription Transcription
- O. ANGEL / EXETER
- Period Classification
- Victorian (1837-1901); Edwardian (1901-1914)
- Production Town
- Production Person Initials
- Thomas
- Production Person Surname
- Ross
- Production Year Low
- 1855
- Production Year High
- 1909
