R. B. Auto Graflex
Camera
R. B. Auto Graflex
ca. 1910
Gift of Georgia O'Keeffe, 1986
1974.0037.0032
Description4 x 5 revolving back, #16556 with 8¼ in. Goerz Celor, used by Alfred Stieglitz
TextFolmer & Schwing of Rochester built all Graflex cameras to endure the rigors and roughness of hard travel. While Alfred Stieglitz’s Auto Graflex 4 x 5-inch camera did not have the polished wood, shiny brass, or luxurious Russia leather of other camera models, it had enough flexibility to capture fast action as well as the splendor of the Manhattan skyline, with its Goerz Celor 8¼-inch f/5 lens and reliable focal-plane shutter. The revolving back could be set from portrait to landscape orientation in one second.
