old wood box camera have any resale value?

[todd_phillips3]

<p>Anybody know if this would have any value to try and sell? If so, what would be a fair asking price?<br>

My dad has it and gave me the info:<br>

- Magazine cyclone<br>

- Western camera<br>

- New York Chicago #2<br>

That's the only info on a small brass plate...</p>

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[wayne_campbell]

<p>I don't see the Pentax logo on it?</p>

[todd_phillips3]

<p>I don't either. I just thought I'd ask some fellow knowledgeable pentaxians, but evidently that was a grave mistake. Go ahead and delete my post.</p>

[wayne_campbell]

<p>Maybe try this forum</p>

<p>http://www.photo.net/classic-cameras-forum/</p>

[Rob_the_waste]

<p>For what it's worth, you're not going to see much more than five dollars, no matter who made it.</p>

[tom_cheshire]

<p>It is best to check completed auctions at eBay to get an idea of value. I recall these doing about $30. the last time I was interested in these but that was long ago. I think this camera has 12 sheet film holders in it that flip forward one at a time with each shot.</p>

[alex macphee]

<p>It's unlikely to have any value at all, I'm afraid. Dollars, pounds, euros, Rob's estimate is about right. A Zeiss Box Tengor might fetch a little more. I guess if you're checking for resale values, then there's no sentimental value attached, so you could try what I've done in these situations, and that's clean it up and put a film through it, purely for the hell of it, assuming it will load 120 film. These old box cameras are simple enough that anybody can take them apart and clean them. The shutter may need a clean, but won't need any lubrication, which can in fact cause more problems than it solves. You might get more fun value out of making it work and producing pictures again, than the hassle of selling it for as little as you're likely to realise. I've restored a couple, and it's a pleasant evening or two when the TV schedules are dull.</p>

<p>PS : Just seen Tom's response. The sheet film might make it even more exciting!</p>

[rogerwb]

<p>I had the use of one of these once. It took 12 glass plates, 4x5 in my case. I still have some glass negs that were with the original camera. <br>

It belonged to my great uncle who was an aspiring photographer in the early 1900's. With it was a notebook list the pictures he had taken in the neighborhood and how much he was paid for each one. If I can find the negs in the next few days I'll try and scan them and post.</p>

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[patrick j dempsey]

<p>A collector might find it interesting, but the condition is pretty terrible, even for a beast this old. What is curious to me is that the lens appears to be off-center and the format appears to be square. That makes it a little unusual, but probably not enough to fetch much. They do make rather lovely book ends though.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>Terrible condition. If, mind you <em>if</em>, it has the plate feature, it might grab a few bucks from somebody interested in restoring, but I shouldn't imagine much, even then. I'd be very surprised if it were a hidden treasure trove of great value, but the price is whatever someone is willing to pay on a given day.</p>

[rdm]

<p>Don't worry about how much resale value you can squeeze from an inexpensive classic. Just put some film in it and Use it, that's when you will find Its real value :)</p>