Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Not currently on display at the V&A
On short term loan out for exhibition

Camera lens belonging to Julia Margaret Cameron

Camera Lens
1840-1860 (made)
Artist/Maker
Jamin (manufacturer)
Place of origin
Paris (made)

Cylindrical camera lens made of brass and glass with one large knob protruding from the side and another smaller nob on top.


Object details

Categories
The Royal Photographic Society
Photographs
Object type
Camera lens
TitleCamera lens belonging to Julia Margaret Cameron (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Brass, metal and glass
Brass
Metal
Glass
Brief description
Petzval type camera lens made by Jamin of Paris belonging to Julia Margaret Cameron
Physical description
Cylindrical camera lens made of brass and glass with one large knob protruding from the side and another smaller nob on top.
Dimensions
  • Height: 14cm
  • Depth: 14cm
  • Length: 30cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'JAMIN / PARIS / J A L P[?]' (engraved on brass tube)
  • 'H or T O P'
    Transliteration
    inscribed on lens ring
Credit line
The Royal Photographic Society Collection at the V&A, acquired with the generous assistance of the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Art Fund.
Object history
The Jamin lens consisted of two separate groups of elements. It had rack and pinion focussing and a fixed aperture of f 3.6, a design invented by the Hungarian mathematician Joseph Max Petzval in 1840.

Brusius, Mirjam (2010). 'Impreciseness in Julia Margaret Cameron's Portrait Photographs', History of Photography, 34:4, 342-355.

It is known that the Jamin lens was given to the RPS by Alvin Landon Coburn.

Harrison, Graham. 'Julia Margaret Cameron and Britain's Photographic Heritage', Photo Histories, 19 April 2017
Association
Cameron, Julia Margaret
Other numbers
  • 2003-5001-1-4 - Science Museum Group accession number
  • 1929-174 - Royal Photographic Society number
  • 0410 - Royal Photographic Society number
Collection
Department of Photography
Accession number
RPS.2467-2017

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Record createdSeptember 8, 2017
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1411496/camera-lens-belonging-to-julia-camera-lens-jamin/
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