Queen Victoria 1899, By Carl Vandyk

This is a photo made of Queen Victoria in 1899. It is listed as a glass transparency (ambrotype?). The picture was taken by Carl Vandyk, the photographer who supposedly owned the lens I used today for first time. Could this lens have been used to photograph Queen Victoria (on a smaller format camera), highly doubtful but possible I guess. She looks tired but tough. Victoria passed in January 1901., age 81.

Note* The seller of the lens in the linked post mentions selling a 10x12 camera for 6000 pounds.

My lens mounted on Eddy today

Queen Victoria Lens?

Fighting the rain today but managed to do some wet plate work. Also mixed up a large vat of Quinn Quick Clear collodion, some iodizer and experimented a bit.

I made up, kinda invented my own Gerry collodion, a bit of Poe Boy and a bit of QQC. Just a small bottle, wanted to try it. Part of the fun of photography is experimenting. Am sure my mix has been done before by someone somewhere, but that previous formula was unknown to me when I mixed mine up. I will give it a try tomorrow! Mine is a no added ether type, with a Canadian source for alcohol (not sure it will work with collodion). I mixed up a small 270ml bottle, as this whole thing is rather experimental, might not work.

Also got some baskets at the $1.25 CAD store to protect the plates in the larger trays. The collodion pours on glass today went a tiny bit better I think. I made up 4 - 4x5 tintypes, 1-8x10 tintype and 2-8x10 ambrotypes.

My main problem today was getting the exposure right. Changing cameras and lens ain't helping the exposure judgment too much! One lens I was happy to use today might have a cool history. It might (big MIGHT) be a lens used to photograph Queen Victoria and or The King of Siam (Thailand). It was probably owned by a photographer who had those people as clients. I was happy of the look of the Petzval lens wide open. The first time I have shot one of these.

Note* Here is a post I wrote up in 2016 when originally bought the MAYBE Queen Victoria lens. I was told it belonged to photographer Carl Vandyk. I am sure there will be lot of naysayers out there but I am an optimist and believed the story of the seller. Plus its fun to think (hope) your using the same lens to photograph the famous of history to create your own KANATA photos.

History of the lens.

Ambrotype, 18 seconds, Queen Victoria Petzval lens wide open, 8x10 glass, QQC collodion, vinegar developer. NOTE * The lens does not have full 8x10 coverage.

Eddy 8x10 with the maybe, wannabe Queen Victoria lens.

The History Of My New Lens

I found out a bit of the history behind my new brass lens. The extremely rare lens I bought a few days back I bought a few days back. It was owned by a rather famous photographer, Carl Vandyk, and it might have used to photograph royal figures, and other famous folk in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Carl Vandyk was a major English portrait photographer dating from the end of the 1800s up until sometime in the 1920s (he died in 1931 age 80). He seems to have photographed most of the royal families of Europe-Asia and many of the famous people of his day.

The lens might have been used to photograph Queen Victoria, King George V, wild west star Buffalo Bill Cody, singer Enrico Caruso, the Shah of Persia and the King of Siam (the Thai king). The Thai connection is rather strange, considering how much time I have photographed in Thailand over the last 20 years. It seems I will always find a connection to Thailand, somehow, some way..

The lens that I bought from L--- in Poland that used to belong to Carl Vandyk

Here is some of the back story, lets start off with the email I got from the seller, followed by the Wikipedia write up on the lens early owner British photographer Carl Vandyk.
----------------------------------------------------

Hi Gerry.
Do not worry, the rear glass sits very well. This lens was previously owned by an outstanding British photographer Carl VanDyke. 
My grandfather bought it in London in the forties of the last century together with other lenses and cameras owned by the VanDyke. 
I suppose that a mechanic made him such a patent to easily change the rear glass. 
Previously, was still the second rear glass but it was broken 10 years ago. The second was assembled in the same way.
Last year I sold a nice 12 x 10 inch camera , which was owned by Carl VanDyke.
Maybe you saw it on ebay auction. This camera was sold for £ 6000.
-----
Best regards, L---
---------------------------------------------------------

Carl Vandyk's Wikipedia page:

Carl Vandyk

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Carl Vandyk
Carl Vandyk, c. 1900s
Born	17 January 1851 London
Died	18 November 1931 (aged 80) London
Occupation	photographer

Carl became a British citizen on 4 February 1886.^[5]Carl Vandyk (17 January 1851 – 18 November 1931) was a successful London photographer^[1] born in Bunde, Germany. From 1882 he owned a studio at Gloucester Road taking images of the British Royal Family including Queen Victoria, King George V as well as other notables such as the King of Siam[disambiguation needed], the Shah of Persia[disambiguation needed],Buffalo Bill and Enrico Caruso.^[2][3] From 1901 the studio moved to Buckingham Palace Road, London.^[4]

Carl's son Herbert Vandyk (1879–1943) took over the family business in 1913 after studying in London, Berlin and Paris and went on to accumulate 22 Royal Warrants.^[4][2]

Carl Vandyk owned 3 London hotels^[2] close to his studios:

• The Rembrandt Hotel, Thurloe Place, London SW
• The Rubens Hotel, Buckingham Palace Road, London SW
• The Vandyke Hotel, Cromwell Road, London SW7

Carl had 2 brothers, Aaron Vandyke (1843–1892) and Herman Vandyke (aka Hyman) (aka Vandyck) (1838–1919) who were also in the photographic trade. Aaron had studios in Liverpool from c.1869 until c.1902 ^[6] and Herman in West London from c.1881 until c.1904.^[7]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Vandyk

Finally here are some of Carl VanDyke's photos, and a link to the National Portrait Gallery collection of his work in London. I was at the National Portrait Gallery in London a few years back, a truly amazing place.

National Portrait Gallery - Carl Vandyk images
National Portrait Gallery - Vandyk Studio images

Now of course the trick is to continue to make good pics with this historic lens. I do not know exactly who Vandyk photographed with it exactly, but I will endeavor to use the lens to make my subjects royalty in their own right. I want to, as always, photograph the greatness, the humanity we all share. I might not be photographing the Queen Victoria, or the King of Siam but I am photographing our common shared humanity, equally as beautiful and as important.

Note* I found out the history of this lens long after I had purchased it. It was probably 4 or 5 emails post sale that the seller in Poland told me of Carl Vandyk and the history behind the lens. How the lens was bought by his grandfather etc.

In an earlier blog soon after I had won the auction (a mistake, basically an accident on my part) I wrote about the gods of photographic fate possibly leading me to the lens, maybe there is something to that! Maybe it is fate that I could use this on the "Oh! Canada" project. This piece of photographic history may have first been used to photograph Queen Victoria, later it may be used to photograph the Queens of Northern Canada! (or at least that is the story I can tell myself, motivate myself with).

Update* I was thinking, no matter how my future with the lens works out, it is super cool to be connected to photographic history. There is a real beauty there! A highly successful photographer form London and a security guard from Canada using the same lens. The past and the future, flowing together making photographs! Wonderful!!

Some Photographs By Carl Vandyk

Here are some photos from the photographer Carl Vandyk I found online. I wonder if any of them was made with my new/historic brass lens.

Queen Victoria

by Vandyk
10 x 12 inch glass transparency, circa 1899
Given by Bassano & Vandyk Studios, 1974

King George V

by Vandyk

12 x 10 inch glass plate negative, 12 May 1908

Sir Bhupindra Singh, Maharaja of Patiala

by Vandyk

12 x 10 inch glass plate negative, 5 July 1911

Hirohito, Emperor Showa of Japan

by Vandyk
10 x 12 inch glass plate negative, 11 May 1921
Given by Bassano & Vandyk Studios, 1974

Enrico Caruso

by Carl Vandyk, published by J. Beagles & Co
bromide postcard print, 1904-1905
4 7/8 in. x 3 1/4 in. (124 mm x 81 mm) image size
Given by an anonymous donor, 1947

Winston Churchill

by Vandyk

12 x 10 inch glass plate negative (copy of bromide print with pencil drawing), 1
923, copied on 15 April 1926

Purchased, 1996

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother

by Vandyk
vintage glossy bromide print, 6 July 1922
8 1/4 in. x 6 3/8 in. (208 mm x 161 mm)
Given by Bassano & Vandyk Studios, 1974

I Got My Brass Petzval 1865 Carl Vandyk Lens Today

I got my Carl Vandyk brass petzval 1865 lens today! And it is a real real BEAUTY!. I did not realize that it had an adjustable shutter/diaphragm set up but it does. I assumed it used the old style waterhouse stops. The kind you take in and out and are hard to find. My lens has a little lever which adjusts the inner lens diaphragm to change the f- stop from F4 to F22 (4-6-8-11-16-22).

I am not sure of the coverage of the lens, I think it should probably work with 8x10 which is good. I doubt it has 11x14 coverage. I need to get a lens board made for it, probably use my eBay contacts for that. It takes a larger hole size then a standard Copal 3. I expect to use this with dads 8x10 Deardorf so I will probably get a Deardorf board made with the right hole size, then screw the mounting plate on the the board. This lens will be brought back to life. When was it last used, who knows? Now thou it will become a living lens again, breathing once more, making photos yet again, fulfilling its destiny. That thought is simply beautiful!

I wonder who Carl Vandyk photographed with this lens? Queen Victoria? King George V? King of Siam? Now I can use it to photograph the kings and queens of Canada, everyday ordinary folks that deserve to have their stories told and remembered. :)))

Update* Gosh just did the math, I will be using a lens approximately 150 years old, WOW!!!!!!!!
Update ** Just thought of an interesting coincidence. The lens was made around 1865, Canada became a country in 1867. Using this lens for the "Oh! Canada!" project just seems so right, they have basically the same birthdays, they were born at the same time.  Now they can speak to each other.
Update*** Wrote of this before but thought I would mention it again. My 8x10 Deardorf was made/first sold  in early 1964, I was born in early 1964. The lens and Canada are connected, me and dads gift Deardorf are connected. :))) Let's make beautiful photos together.

Here is the beauty lens!

My new 1865 brass pretzval lens, once owned by Carl Vandyk

YouTube Video: Today's Fix Of A Tintype

The learning continues. Here is some work, a 8x10 tintype fix. Getting bored with tintypes, need to move onto glass all the time (ambrotypes). Also getting bored with shooting things in my backyard, I need to get on the road with the wet plate trailer!!

The eventual goal with all of this is KANATA. A 10-15 year project wetplate project of Canada! Ambrotypes (positive), wetplate and film negatives. I might eventually be making Carbon prints from the glass negs.

Tech stuff
- Gerry Collodion
- 8x10 Deardorff (Eddie) with old brass Queen Victoria lens
- Vinegar developer with an added 40% alcohol, the temp in the trailer on starting today was 32C.
- Hypo fix is a 40% mix

Slowly but surely I am becoming a wetplater, ambrotypist!

Safety Note* After accidentally splashing some silver bath on my face last week I have moved up from the foam fitting safety glasses when handing the bath to higher end safety style goggles. I will now always wear goggles, Silver bath (made with Silver Nitrate and distilled water can blind you). Safety especially when doing something like wetplate is VERY IMPORTANT. Please if you do this process, learn and follow all the safety steps and wear proper PPE (Personal Protection Equipment).

YouTube Video Of Dim-sum and 8x10 Tintype Fix

Today's Video

My Wetplate Process in Calgary this Weekend!

Part of email on the wet plate process in Calgary.

“On Saturday I spent a 12-hour day making Ambrotypes in downtown Calgary on a bridge near Chinatown.

The process is called wet plate collodion. You have about a 10–15-minute window to make the glass plate (with a photographic emulsion on it), make a picture onto the glass and then develop it before everything dries up and you lose the image.

In Calgary, I had to park my darkroom trailer far away from my camera positions. So to get back and forth fast enough I tried a new idea for the first time. I bought and used an e-scooter! So all of Saturday I first worked in the darkroom and made the plate, then scootered down to my camera (my wife sat in a chair all day watching my expensive gear at three locations), took the photo, then scootered back up a big hill to the darkroom trailer and developed and fixed the Ambrotype before it dried out.

So, after a 12-hour day of doing that I was pretty much spent! 

All that night I had to wash and dry the 14 plates made that day in the hotel parking lot. I had to get up and change out the washing plates every two hours, change the water, then dry the plates and pack the plates. In Edmonton I still need to varnish the glass Ambrotype plates. This is an 1851-year process, so a ton of steps. I admire the old guys who did this, back in Queen Victoria times. They had no e-scooters to help them out!”

Got My Korona 5x7 (4x5) Camera Today

Got my Korona 5x7 (4x5) camera in the mail today from the states. It is one old but super cool piece of gear. It is fascinating to see how all the movements worked, some are geared movements! The camera did not cost much money, am very happy with it, it should be a great working tool.

On this camera I have:

Front Standard - I have tilt, swing, shift and rise and fall (geared).
Rear Standard - I have tilt (geared).

Update* I could not figure out what one knob on the camera was for! Just now I found a second knob on the opposite side of the body. When I undid both knobs I found that I also have swing on the rear standard. Go figure!! Those old camera designers sure had a way to get things done. This thing has a ton of movements. I love my Korona 5x7!

Love how all the different movements work and are locked and unlocked. A very different design than what I am used to. Loads of fun to play with. The camera is in reasonable overall condition but could use a good cleaning or two. The bellows seem to be in very good shape, possibly a second bellows for the camera. I doubt that there are any light leaks but will check before I use the camera.

The lens is a 8 1/2 inch (216mm) f 4.5 (faster then any other 210mm I own) Ilex Paragpm Anastigmat with working (except 1 second) No. 4 Acme Synchro shutter.  The glass is a bit dusty maybe a tiny bit of haze/fungus but should not be a problem to use to make beautiful photographs.

There is also a 4x5 reducing back and extension rail includes which makes shooting closer subjects possible in both 4x5 and 5x7 formats.

As a bonus it came with 2 wooden 5x7 holder, some extra dark slides, a normal long cable release (stiff need to fix it up) and a very nice very long air bulb release that works well (do not own any of these). There was also some sheets of black fabric that I might be able to turn into a workable dark cloth with some sewing.

I plan on using the camera on the "Oh! Canada!" wet plate project. Probably not the most necessary tool in my arsenal of cameras but a beautiful and historic camera that I plan to use to make wet plate photographs. Some how using a historic camera on this project just seems right! I will get a lensboard and mount my brass (Queen Victoria-Photographer Carl Vandyk) lens to this camera. I am not sure it will cover 5x7 but I can use it with the reducing 4x5 back.
My Photographer Carl Vandyk Brass Lens Blogs

Update**There is also a nice vintage (blue velvet cloth interior) lens cap included for the 8 1/2 inch Ilex lens. I could use the cap for the longer wet plate exposures if I do not want to use the T/B setting on the shutter. Using a lens cap as your shutter seems some how more historically correct!

Update*** Another thing of interest is the 5x7 ground glass. They have a a removable plastic type card that cuts the 5x7 image in half (the film sits between the ground glass and the plastic card). It can be slid from side to side, or taken out entirely. I have been thinking of creative uses for this item. What if I did head shot portraits of a subject in the landscape horizontal composition, the first exposure with the card on the left side, the second exposure with the card on the right side. I would have 2 slightly different (movement) versions of the face. This little card sliding option could be a very creative tool, it could help to make some compelling portraits, especially as ambrotypes.

My Korona 5x7 camera with 8.5 inch f4.5 lens and bulb cable release

Bought Me An "Antique Gundlach Portrait Petzval 350mm 15" F5 Brass Lens 8x10 10x12 Wet Plate"

Have not bought any photo gear for quite a long while, but this was too tempting. The cost of the lens was $730.24 USD including shipping from Dusseldorf Germany.

This might not be the best time to buy as I am saving for a trip to Thailand but the price was right (cheaper) and and people that I trust on the Facebook wet plate group Collodion Bastards recommended it.

I will be shooting it wide open at F5. It is a 350mm so will cover a 8x10 format nicely. This Petzval lens is over 100 years old. There is something truly beautiful about working with a piece of glass that old. I always wonder who was photographed with it. Check out this link for more on that point.

Lens Used To Photograph Queen Victoria?

The hope is to use this lens on my eventual cross Canada photo project KANATA. Lots of work thou before that can become a reality.

Here is the German sellers write up blurb, he is a reputable dealer in lens and an accomplished photographer:

History: Gundlach Manhattan were well known for their field cameras in the early stage of the photographic movement in the US. There are very few of photographic lenses made by this workshop, that's why it is even more astonishing to find one at this size.Condition: The brass shows some wear here and there , but also a nice patina. The glass is in very nice condition, there are only minimal and feint cleaning marks and 2 chips at the rear elements in the outer region, but no substantial damage, haze or fungus is present. The lens comes with a fitting flange. The aperture ring is moving smoothly, but the blades are missing, so it shoots wide open.

The lens features a FL of 350mm at a speed of F5. It will cover 8x10 and 10x12.

height: 19cm
width: 8cm
weight: 1200gr
I have 100% positive feedback and try to maintain a lasting seller buyer relationship. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Look out for my other listings if your interested in antique camera and wet plate equipment!Important Note: This item comes from my private collection and is around 100 years old (antique). I try my best to describe all the faults and major damage which are relevant for the function of this item. But the actual item can show signs of wear and also some cosmetic blemishes/damage which is not described in the auction text! When buying this item the buyer agrees to this terms. There will be no partial refund or return anymore.

My New Antique Gundlach Portrait Petzval 350mm 15" Brass Lens

Bought Me A 5x7 French Mahogany / Brass Tailboard Camera

I just paid for a 5x7 French Mahogany/Brass Tailboard Camera, with lens board.Was only half interested bidding on this camera but got it at a reasonable price. It will be my 5x7wet plate camera for the future "Oh Canada" major wet plate project. I might be able to use my historic Carl Vandyke brass lens with this body, not sure if it quite covers 5x7, but it would be a great old and historic combo. I can already see it mentioned in the "Artist Statement" for the project.

 http://gerryyaum.blogspot.ca/2016/07/oops-bought-old-brass-lens.html
 http://gerryyaum.blogspot.ca/2016/08/the-history-of-my-new-lens.html

I still need to get a a wet plate holder for this camera which I am a bit worried about but I think it can be bought on eBay or made on the side by a current builder. Got the camera for the very reasonable price of $139.99 CAD with $34 CAD shipping from England. I see this as a potential workhorse camera on "Oh Canada" project, especially for quick cheaper (less silver) portraits. Glad I got it, now just have to figure out the holder. My Petzval Vandyk lens (possibly used to photograph Queen Victoria, and the King of Thailand) mounted on this camera could prove a lethally great combo! I could photograph the queens and kings of Northern Canada with it! It is all so exciting!

Here is the camera advert from the eBay seller.

5x7 inch (approx 12x18cm) Tailboard camera.

Probably very late 19th or early 20th century.

Mahogany, with brass fittings.

No maker's identification, but it is almost certainly French.

Cloth type black bellows with cherry red leather edging.

No Lens, but does have the original Front Panel.

Very nice condition, fully working and no known issues.

Attractive and well made.

My 5x7 French Mahogany/Brass Tailboard Camera