Lot Essay
Condition: 5-
Cosmetic: Heavy use and wear.
This camera was one of two examples built c.1936-1937 by Bellingham and Stanley and is believed to be the first commercially-made three-colour beam splitting camera to use pellicle mirrors. The camera was purchased directly from the manufacturers by J. R. Jeffress of Harrow, Middlesex. Jeffress was an experienced and competent Trichrome Carbro worker and worked with George Hendee Wells FBIPP in experimenting with the process. The Klein camera was used with some success but problems were experienced with registration and the reduction in speed by the pellicle mirrors which gave an effective 4ASA film speed. Further developments with the mirrors increased this to around 10ASA. Jeffress later acquired an American three-colour camera and subsequently designed his own.
The camera was used commercially until 1949 after which Kodak Ektachrome film became available of sufficient quality so allow colour separation negatives to be produced that compared favourably with the standard achieved with the Klein camera.
The Klein camera demonstrated the advantages of the pellicle mirror adopted by most subsequent three-colour camera makers.
Eric W. Sykes, describing the Royal Photographic Society's Annual Exhibition, in Photography made the following comments: 'It is interesting to move across to the few colour prints...In general, the colour values are still not wholly satisfactory. Most visitors seemed to be particularly interested in Mr George Well's "The Pink Dress", a Carbro print, which seemed to capture most of the subtle graduations of colour which approximate to the gentle half-tones in a really good monochrome print, and a feeling of reality, and fullness, results...Colour prints in this country are still in the early stages, however, despite the fact that there is nothing new about the work: lack of materials and processing facilities has, during the war years, set back much of the progress that should have been made.'
Cosmetic: Heavy use and wear.
This camera was one of two examples built c.1936-1937 by Bellingham and Stanley and is believed to be the first commercially-made three-colour beam splitting camera to use pellicle mirrors. The camera was purchased directly from the manufacturers by J. R. Jeffress of Harrow, Middlesex. Jeffress was an experienced and competent Trichrome Carbro worker and worked with George Hendee Wells FBIPP in experimenting with the process. The Klein camera was used with some success but problems were experienced with registration and the reduction in speed by the pellicle mirrors which gave an effective 4ASA film speed. Further developments with the mirrors increased this to around 10ASA. Jeffress later acquired an American three-colour camera and subsequently designed his own.
The camera was used commercially until 1949 after which Kodak Ektachrome film became available of sufficient quality so allow colour separation negatives to be produced that compared favourably with the standard achieved with the Klein camera.
The Klein camera demonstrated the advantages of the pellicle mirror adopted by most subsequent three-colour camera makers.
Eric W. Sykes, describing the Royal Photographic Society's Annual Exhibition, in Photography made the following comments: 'It is interesting to move across to the few colour prints...In general, the colour values are still not wholly satisfactory. Most visitors seemed to be particularly interested in Mr George Well's "The Pink Dress", a Carbro print, which seemed to capture most of the subtle graduations of colour which approximate to the gentle half-tones in a really good monochrome print, and a feeling of reality, and fullness, results...Colour prints in this country are still in the early stages, however, despite the fact that there is nothing new about the work: lack of materials and processing facilities has, during the war years, set back much of the progress that should have been made.'