century camera

never have i seen up close a camera quite like this one. it was beautiful, all wood and shiny brass, with sections to open and knobs to adjust, sitting atop an elegant tripod with expandable wooden legs held taut by three brass chains. on the bench next to the camera, a box full of old film plates, framed in wood, and the bulb the photographer squeezed when he was ready to record his subject. studying the camera led me to wonder what sorts of pictures it had taken, what events it had seen, what formal portraits it had captured, and of whom, and for what long ago occasion.