Hand plate camera

Here is a nice little plate camera but which does not have any brand or name reference. The construction seems French or Belgian given the inscriptions in French: three times "Breveté SGDG" on the front plate, on the front plate and on the wooden body. "SGDG" (Without Government Guarantee) was used as much in France as in Belgium. Twice "Registered Model" is engraved on the two sliding rods of the focus.

The shutter, fixed on a thick copper plate, is with double metal shutters with horizontal displacement. the speed is adjusted by screwing or unscrewing the small lower knob and cocking by turning the central notched button.

The Voigtländer lens (1902) is of course German, but it was common for manufacturers from other countries to come to Germany to source quality optics to mount them on their cameras.

Inside, we notice the bellows of the camera hidden by the part covered with leatherette.

There is the possibility of a horizontal and vertical shift of the front board.

Could this camera be the result of an assembly of two separate cameras parts? In any case, it would be a job done by an expert or a pro!

The camera is fully functional.