Photographic Enlarger, ca. 1900

This rare article, in perfect condition and fully functional, is a vintage enlarger designed to reproduce photographs from glass negatives. The enlarger is made of solid tropical wood, with a nice reddish tone and in perfect condition. It has a black fabric bellow with no rips or visible flaws, and a fine mesh that protects the emulsion-covered photographic paper. All this curious enlargers components are original and wonderfully preserved, and the item can be used to make photographic copies just like when it was originally manufactured.These devices operation is quite simple. The negative, printed on glass plates, must be held in one of the enlargers ends; more precisely in the wooden piece that has a rectangular window and two small mobile metal plates designed to hold the glass in its place. The fabric bellow lets the user put the negative nearer or farther from the paper in order to get smaller or bigger images. The paper must be placed in the other end, covered with the black mesh and protected by a sash door that lets the light in or stops it from entering. The end where the glass is placed has a lens that amplifies the image on the paper.The enlarger is completely foldable and can be fold until becoming a practical rectangular case, easy to carry. This case, when shut, has two brass hooks that keep all the pieces in their place. It also keeps the original brass handle, hinges and brass details, as shiny and polished as the first day of use. The frame designed to hold the photographic paper in place when the enlarger is in use is made of black painted wood; this finish makes it stand out over the nice reddish tone of the tropical wood the rest of the pieces are made of.This vintage enlarger from the early 1900s will surely be a wonderful acquisition for any photo enthusiast.Measurements (in use): Width: 370 mm. Height: 370 mm.