No. 4 Eureka and No. 4 Zenith
The No. 4 Eureka is a low quality boxcamera for 4 x 5 inch (10 x 13 cm) pictures on glass plates in double plate holders. It can also be used with a roll holder to take photos on film.
Because the camera takes bigger sized pictures it was not possible to use a fixed focus lens. So it has a key on the side to set the proper distance with. The door in the front can be opened to change the apertures (3 stops on a rotating sector) or set the shutter for time exposures. For normal use the shutter has one single speed.
When the camera was used with glass plates you could focus and frame the picture on a ground glass in the back. To view the ground glass you had to open the door in the back. The door in the side panel provides access to the plate holders and roll holder.
The camera did cost $ 6.
The first batch of 1000 cameras was ordered at the camera factory on June 6, 1897, but the first cameras were shipped one and a half year later, on December 12, 1898. In 1899 three batches of 1000, 1000 and 1500 were ordered. In total 4500 were manufactured.
As the first batch was shipped in December 1898, the No. 4 Eureka was available in the shops very late in 1898 and in 1899.
This camera was renamed No. 4 Zenith for the UK market, as the Eureka name was already in use there by another manufacturer.
Page from the 1899 Kodak catalog.
This very rare camera is the UK version of the No. 4 Eureka. There the Eureka name was already in use by W. Rouch & Co. for a plate camera, so Eastman Kodak had to rename their Eureka.
The Zenith was introduced in October 1899 and discontinued in 1900. Only 1000 were made, starting from serial number 701. The example in this video has number 881. It is rarely seen today.
There is no difference between the Eureka and Zenith, except for the name, which is printed inside the back door, on the focusing scale and on the strap.
The Eureka and Zenith cameras could take glass plate holders as well as a roll film holder. My camera was used with glass plates and still has its ground glass.
Description of the No. 3 Zenith and No. 4 Zenith in the Australasian Review of July 22, 1899.
The 1/4 plate refers to the No. 3 Zenith, which took photos of 83 x 108 mm.