My oldest camera

Over the years, I have acquired various cameras, most of which I've ended up ebaying. This the oldest one I have - it came from a friend of my father's - and I think it was made in the 1870s. It won't be going on ebay.

I love the mellowness of the wood and the fact that everything is explicit - you can take everything apart and see what it's used for.

The maker of the camera was an instrument maker whose main customer was Lord Kelvin - the inventor of the temperature scale. Kelvin eventually took the company over and, as a Victorian academic entrepreneur, made a lot of money.