Dallmeyer (J.H.) Stereo (sliding box, wet plates) Universal
The J.H. Dallmeyer Stereo Universal is a 19th-century sliding-box stereo camera built for wet collodion plates, a format that placed it firmly in the studio and field photography of the Victorian era. As a wet-plate stereo instrument from a London optical maker, it sat at the higher end of professional equipment when new.
Sales history for this Dallmeyer is thin and confined to specialist auctions: a hammer price of £5,875 was recorded at Christie's in 2002, and £9,500 at a Leitz-related sale in 2016, giving an indicative auction range of roughly £5,900–£9,500. These are UK saleroom hammer results — wholesale levels, not retail asking prices — and as of today values for early Dallmeyer stereo apparatus remain heavily condition- and provenance-driven, with completeness of the original lens pair, plate holders and box being the principal price drivers.
Sales History
Prices shown are UK auction hammer results — the wholesale level achieved in the saleroom. Neither buyer’s nor seller’s commission is included. Dealer and retail asking prices are typically higher.
| Date | Price | Source | |
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| Nov 2025 | £9,000 | Flints Auctions | |
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Auction: Fine Photographica (Lot 471) Title: A Fine J. H. Dallmeyer Stereo Wet Plate Sliding Box Camera
Description:
1855-, 7¼x4½", serial no. 268, with a pair of J. H. Dallmeyer Waterhouse stop brass lenses, serial nos. 5015/5016, body, VG, lenses, VG-E, complete |
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| Nov 2024 | £3,625 | Flints Auctions | |
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Auction: Fine Photographica (Lot 328) Title: A J. H. Dallmeyer Stere Wetplate Mahogany & Brass Camera
Description:
English, c.1863*, with label for 'J. H . Dallmeyer, Optician, London' , camera numbered 201, constructed of French polished mahogany, with all |
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| May 2023 | £4,000 | Flints Auctions | |
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Auction: Fine Photographica (Lot 310) Title: A Fine J. H. Dallmeyer Stereo Sliding Box Wetplate Camera
Description:
1855-, serial no. 1171, the camera constructed of French polished mahogany, with unusual tilting focal screen, rack and pinion focusing, with a pair |
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| Nov 2016 | EUR 9,500 | Leitz Auction | |
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Auction: Leitz Auction 30 (Lot AI_30_34750) Title: Dallmeyer Universal Sliding Box Camera
Description:
rare English Stereo camera in fantastic and original condition for plates 7.5 x 4.5 inches, window-pattern, polished mahogany body, lacquered brass inset binding and fittings, inside stamped '560', with ivory maker's plaque 'J.H.DALLMEYER OPTICAN London.', removable focusing screen, rack and pinion front-focusing inner box with a pair of Dallmeyer Triple Achromatic lenses for water house stops nos.4224 + 4226, a Dallmeyer brass bound Patent lens no.19238 on mahogany lens board, mahogany wet-collodion single dark-slide stamped '560' - for sure the most beautiful example of this historic camera we have ever seen Estimate: EUR 10,000 - EUR 12,000 |
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| May 2009 | EUR 12,500 | Leitz Auction | |
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Auction: Leitz Auction 15 (Lot AI_15_18809) Title: Dallmeyer Universal Sliding Box Camera
Description:
rare English Stereo camera for plates 7.5 x 4.5 inches, window-pattern, polished mahogany body, lacquered brass inset binding and fittings, internal removable septum, removable focusing screen, rack and pinion front-focusing inner box with a pair of Dallmeyer rack and pinion patent lenses nos.15175 and 15174, mahogany flap shutter, a pair of Dallmeyer brass bound lenses nos.15673 and 15674, a Dallmeyer screen focusing lens in maker's case, three mahogany wet-collodion single dark-slides stamped '1113' - ex Jim Barron collection Estimate: EUR 10,000 - EUR 12,000 |
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| Nov 2003 | EUR 8,854 | Leitz Auction | |
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Auction: Leitz Auction 4 (Lot AI_4_22487) Title: J. H. Dallmeyer Universal sliding box camera
Description:
7,5 x 4,5 Zoll, für Einzelaufnahmen und Stereopaare auf Nassplatten, politiertes Mahagonigehäuse mit soliden Messingbeschlägen, Zahnstangenfokussierung, Stereo-Klappenverschluss, Einzelobjektiv-Platine mit Dallmeyer-Objektiv, Stereo-Doublet-Objektive von Grubb in Dublin auf Stereoplatine, passende Kassette und Mattscheibenteil; diese ästhetische Kamera zeugt von der überlegenen Kameratischlerarbeit in England zur Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts Estimate: EUR 1,868 - EUR 4 |
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| Dec 2002 | £5,875 | Christie's | |
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Auction: THE BRITISH CAMERA 1840-1960 THE JIM BARRON COLLECTION (Lot 130) Title: Universal sliding box camera no. 1113
Description:
Universal sliding box camera no. 1113 Estimate: £5,000 - £8,000 |
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