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Ottewill Sliding Box Camera

The Ottewill Sliding Box Camera is a 19th-century wooden box camera of the sliding-box pattern, in which a smaller inner box slides within an outer box to achieve focus. Cameras of this construction were used in the earliest decades of photography for daguerreotype and wet-plate work, and Ottewill of London was among the makers producing them for studio and field use.

Pricing data for this maker is extremely thin: a single recorded UK auction hammer result from May 2004 sits at £8,000, which reflects the saleroom (wholesale) level rather than any retail or dealer asking price. With only one data point on file, there is no meaningful range or median to quote in 2026, and what an example is worth today will depend heavily on condition, completeness and provenance — a clean, documented piece could sell for considerably more, while an incomplete one would sell for less.

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
May 2004 EUR 8,000 Leitz Auction