This has been in the family since my Grandfather had a studio in Eloff Street at the turn of the last century. She sits on the lower shelf of my display cabinet and keeps an eye on the younger upstarts on the upper shelves - none of them dare step out of line while she's awake! She is marked "No.4 Cartridge Kodak" on the carrying handle - there is an empty take-up spool inside, wooden core and tin flanges, I guess the first roll film Kodak made. The negative size is 3.75 X 4.75 inches. I have not carried out any CLA or restoration - she's in original condition, the bellows are fine, the shutter works and the lens is clear.
The lens is marked "T.T.H - Kodak" (Taylor-Taylor & Hobson), the f-stop gradations go from f4 to f128, and from f16 on the scale is duplicated with an amount of off-set, obviously to compensate for bellows extension. The lens standard allows for a certain amount of rise and fall, but how one would view the effect I'm not sure.
An elegant camera from a more elegant time. If only lenses could talk....
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