I recently took a weekend trip to London and decided to see what I could find in the way of British cameras. Happily, hours spent at the Portobello Road Market were not in vain as I came away with four interesting cameras, three of which can be considered British.
Houghton Ensign Cupid
This was the camera that first caught my eye in one of the stalls at the Portobello Road Market. With what quick research I had done before leaving the States, I knew what it was.
Unfortunately, though this example is in good working order, it is missing the clip-on bright finder. If anyone has a lead on one of these, please let me know.
| Make | Ensign (Houghton) |
|---|---|
| Model | Cupid |
| Year | 1922 |
| Format | 120 (4x6cm) |
| Shutter | guillotine |
| Speed | I, T |
| Lens | meniscus |
| ~f14 ~70mm | |
| Focus | fixed |
| Aperture | ~f14 |
| Light Meter | No |
| Rangefinder | No |
Hunter Purma Plus
This Purma Plus is rough, there is no getting around that. However, for the price I felt it was well worth it. Many of my cameras are not pretty, but they work. I love that you adjust the shutter speed with gravity. Depending on how you orient the camera the speeds are 1/25, 1/150, and 1/500.
The Purma appears to be in excellent mechanical order for its age and will not take much to get it in fine working condition.
| Make | Hunter |
|---|---|
| Model | Purma Plus |
| Year | 1952 |
| Format | 127 |
| Shutter | guillotine |
| Speed | 25, 150, 500 |
| Lens | Purma Anastigmat |
| f6.3 55mm | |
| Focus | 1ft – ∞ |
| Aperture | f6.3 (fixed) |
| Light Meter | No |
| Rangefinder | No |
Ica Bébé 41
Ica, Ica, Bébé… can’t touch this. Photo Time! I found this camera at the same stall as the Houghton Ensign Cupid. Besides the obvious design characteristics, what stood out to me is the removable 120 roll back.
| Make | ICA |
|---|---|
| Model | Bébé 41 |
| Year | 1911-1925 |
| Format | 120 (originally plate) |
| Shutter | Compur |
| Speed | B,M,Z,1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 200 |
| Lens | Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar |
| f4.5 120mm | |
| Focus | 2ft – ∞ |
| Aperture | f4.5 – 36 |
| Light Meter | No |
| Rangefinder | No |
Kershaw Eight-20 Penguin
| Make | Kershaw |
|---|---|
| Model | Eight-20 Penguin |
| Year | c1953 |
| Format | 120 |
| Shutter | Kershaw |
| Speed | B,I (1/50-1/60) |
| Lens | Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar |
| f11 120mm | |
| Focus | 6ft – ∞ |
| Aperture | f11, f16 (lever-selected) |
| Light Meter | No |
| Rangefinder | No |
It’s nice to know such oldies still turn up – and that they haven’t all been lost to museums of the trash.