221 - Polyfoto, Berlin | Department Store Portrait Camera

Polyfoto, Berlin | Department Store Portrait Camera Estimate: €4,000–5,000 Year: c. 1933 Serial No.: 47 Condition: B+ English: An exceptionally rare large-format studio camera manufactured for Polyfoto-Gesellschaft moderner Fotografie m.b.H., Berlin, and used for the celebrated Polyfoto rapid-sequence portrait system. Polyfoto studios were set up in department stores and downtown portrait studios during the 1930s. The ingenious camera produced a sequence of up to 48 different portraits on a single large photographic plate, automatically advancing the plate between exposures. Customers received a contact sheet from which they could subsequently select and enlarge their preferred portrait. The present camera is in very fine and working condition. Unit no. 47, equipped with a Polyfot-Tachar 2.3/50mm lens by Astro-Berlin, is an exceptionally rare surviving example of this once highly popular commercial portrait system. Provenance: Deutsches Fotomuseum, Markkleeberg. German: An exceptionally rare large-format studio camera, manufactured for the Polyfoto-Gesellschaft moderner Fotografie m.b.H., Berlin, and used for the famous Polyfoto rapid portrait system. Polyfoto studios were operated in department stores and downtown portrait studios in the 1930s. This ingenious camera automatically captured up to 48 different portraits in succession on a single large photographic plate, with the plate being advanced between exposures. Customers received a contact sheet from which they could select their preferred portrait for later enlargement. This camera is in very fine, fully functional condition. Model No. 47 with a Polyfot-Tachar 2.3/50mm lens from Astro-Berlin and the original tripod assembly—an exceptionally rare surviving example of this once very popular commercial portrait system. Provenance: German Museum of Photography, Markkleeberg.