I know it looks like “Fronrbox” but it’s not. It’s a Frontbox made by Balda of Germany.
It’s a box camera and it has a front.
There are four models of Frontboxes. The one pictured above was made in 1938.
The camera has tripod mounts on the side and bottom. Two iris openings and a spot for a cable release. I don’t recall ever seeing a box camera with a provision for a cable release.
The viewfinder windows are nearly useless due to seventy years of crud buildup. I may try and get them off to clean them and their mirrors.
I’m continually amazed at the condition of ancient camera like this. It must have spent many decades on the shelf.
The shutter goes “clicklunk.” The negatives have cool, rounded edges.
Many photographers have influenced me, but none more than Diane Arbus. I think Diane and I saw the world in similar ways.
There’s an oddness to much of what I see around me. Crappy cameras capture that oddness well. Some things are clear. But mostly they are not.
