No. 5 Eastman Plate camera

The rare No. 5 Eastman Plate camera I have bought arrived during the past week and I can say that I am not disappointed. It is dirty and some folds of the bellows just behind the lens panel are torn, but it can be made into a fine looking instrument again.

To be able to do so I have taken it apart. All the tiny screws and parts were put in glass jars or small boxes, with a note from what part they were taken.

The bellows will be the most difficult and time consuming to restore. First I thought to just cut off the first fold that is torn and glue the second fold to the wooden frame that holds the lens. Probably nobody would notice. But when I had taken the instrument apart I decided to mend the torn folds. I have done that before with good result, so I should be able to do it again.

The leather on the outside of the camera is dry and scuffed, but a treatment with Venetian Cream usually does miracles with leather. This afternoon I applied a coating of VC and now it is drying. Then I am going to treat the leather with colorless Tana shoe cream to feed it. After a gentle buffing the leather should look at least 100 years younger.

I have been on the hunt for a wooden Boston Bull's-Eye for some time, and now I found one and got it for a very reasonable amount of $$. The camera is missing the handle, but that one I can replace. All the other parts are present, like the brass presure plate in the back that is often gone. There is a bit of wear to the wood of the front top. I will treat that with a furniture touch up pen. The same goes for the scratch on the front.  The camera is still on its way from Texas to the Netherlands, but here's the pic from the auction.