The invention of Jules Bourdin, the Dubroni camera and development system was the forerunner (by almost a century) of Polaroid instant photography. The camera was sold as you see it pictured here, with the chemicals, tanks, printmakers, and trays needed to take a photograph from concept to completion. Everything was housed in a compact wood box, with partitions separating the components. This No. 3 oval exposure kit included a tripod, as well, the legs for which were tucked away behind a second interior lid.

An anagram of Bourdin’s last name, the Dubroni camera itself contained within its housing a sealed glass bulb into which were poured the chemicals needed to both sensitize a plate (prior to its exposure) and develop a plate (following its exposure). Pipettes were used to squeeze the chemicals through through a small opening in the top of the camera, and when spent, the solutions were siphoned out.

This No. 3 outfit is in very good condition throughout, with wear that you’d expect to see for a camera and processing set this old but no evidence of abuse or neglect. All of the components appear to be original, including the signed Dubroni bottles, the tripod legs and tripod head, the tanks, the trays, and the bone pipettes with their rubber bulbs.

The camera itself is in excellent condition, and the glass interior/sleeve appears to have no cracks or other damage. The Darlot lens is in excellent condition, and it’s the correct for this Dubroni, per Corrado D’Agostino’s exhaustive compendium on French lenses. The lens’s flange holes align with the holes in the lensboard, confirming this.

A rare and eminently collectible camera outfit rarely seen with so many of its original accoutrements