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Lancaster Instantograph 1/4-plate view

The Lancaster Instantograph is a Victorian-era British plate camera made by J. Lancaster & Son of Birmingham, with the quarter-plate view variant taking 3¼ × 4¼ inch glass negatives. Built around a mahogany body with brass fittings and bellows, it was sold from the late 1880s as an affordable field camera aimed at amateur photographers.

At UK auction in 2026, hammer prices for the quarter-plate Instantograph typically sit in the £40–£180 range, with a median around £150 and most clean, complete examples selling for around £110–£175. One outlier at £725 in 2022 shows what an exceptional cased outfit with original lens and accessories can fetch at saleroom level, but the everyday value of a bare body with worn bellows is closer to the lower end of that range.

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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
Oct 2025 £113 Chiswick Auctions
Aug 2023 £40 Special Auction Services
Apr 2023 £140 Special Auction Services
Mar 2023 £175 Flints Auctions
Apr 2022 £725 Flints Auctions
Jan 2007 £180 Christie's

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