Rochester, N.Y.
Artist
Unknown
Date1886
MediumAlbumen print
DimensionsImage and sheet: 5 5/8 × 5 5/16 inches (14.29 × 13.49 cm)
Credit LineGift of Hallmark Cards, Inc.
Object number2005.27.3403
Signednone
InscribedOn mount verso, top, in pencil: "STIRN / CONCEALED VEST CAMERA #1 / 1886";
On mount verso, center, in pencil: "RUDOLPH STIRN-BERLIN, GERMANY / (ROCHESTER, N.Y. VIEWS) / DISC 5" GLASS PLATE / CAMERA"
MarkingsOn mount verso, upper right, in pencil: "24-";
On mount verso, lower right, in pencil: "2005.27.3403" / "400-156-98", "P5.400.156.98"
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionImage made from plate produced by Stirn vest-pocket camera.Exhibition History
Rotation 7. The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art,
Kansas City, MO. December 7, 2009 – May 17, 2010, no cat.
Surveillance. The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO. September 16, 2016 – January 29, 2017, no cat.
By the early 1880s, the enormous popularity of amateur photography supported an expanding commercial market for a number of smaller, easier to use cameras. Many tiny, concealed, “spy” cameras were manufactured during this time, including C. P. Stirn’s Patent Concealed Vest Camera of 1886, which was meant to be worn beneath a vest or coat, with the lens protruding through a buttonhole. As seen in this fascinating piece, six small instantaneous images could be made on a circular glass-plate negative using this unusual device.
Hallmark Cards Inc., Kansas City, MO, 1998;
Given by Hallmark Cards, Inc. to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2005.
Given by Hallmark Cards, Inc. to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2005.
Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information,
is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete.
Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a
particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum.
If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image,
please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.
