Request help identifying R.H. Phillips 8 x 10 camera

[phone.ill]

Hello all,

I've got in my possession an R.H. Phillips & Sons 8 x 10 Compact Series field camera. I'm planning to sell it but I cannot accurately identify the model, other than that it's not a Compact II.

Here's what I can describe about it:

• Back may be flipped for portrait or landscape aspect
• Serial # 220, plate on the top of the body, partially covered by leather handle
• Manufactured c1993-94
• Bellows extends to 21"

I attempted to contact Dick Phillips but, as others have noted, is disconnected. Signs indicate the business is closed.

Any assistance you can provide in identifying is welcome.
Philip O'Neill

[ic-racer]

Why are you selling it? These are pretty nice cameras, I thought most people that own these want to be buried with them when they die

[phone.ill]

I haven't used this camera in too long. It should belong to someone who will give it the use it deserves. I'm almost embarrassed how good condition it is in, considering how long ago I bought it.

I'll be uploading some pics later on today which might help aid identification. Thanks for your response!

[jp80874]

Welcome to Apug Philip.

From your description I believe you have identified the camera correctly as a Compact Series Field Camera. If you will PM me your email address I can send you seven pictures of a Compact Series Field Camera taken from an earlier eBay auction. If your camera looks like that one it is probably that model.

To explain my interest, I have an 8x10 Advantage series, serial 145, from about 1993. The primary difference is longer bellow draw. I can use a 600mm lens with lots of room for focus. I also have a 7x17 Explorer Series with same bellow draw.

Dick Phillips is in his late 70s, has retired and moved to warmer climes in Texas. He still repairs the cameras he built when needed, but at a schedule that adjusts to he and his wife’s travel plans.

At age 71 I carry either camera in a baby jogger. When that gets to be too big a chore or as the price of film continues to rise, I will probably sell as you are doing. As to my burial plans, my wife is certain she wants to have me torched, so that does not seem to be proper conditions for camera storage.

John Phillip Powers of Powers and O’Grady
We may have some historic travel in common.

[phone.ill]

Thanks for your assistance, John! I'm attaching a link to photos I took - admittedly not great, as I have no studio and prefer very low-tech photography nowadays.

It sounds like the model you mention from the eBay auction is very similar. And thanks for all the background on Dick Phillips. I remember him being very courteous during the process of my purchase. I wish him well in retirement.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/3666131...7626572128395/

[Bbrt]

Hi is the camera still for sale?

[DREW WILEY]

Is it all black or is the bed blonde (clear epoxy finish right over the custom plywood)? If blonde
it is the original Compact. Wonderful camera. I bought the eighth one he ever made, and except for
a few minor replacements of screws etc, it has held up wonderfully. A treat to use. Another indicator
of the original compact is that the focus knob is on the side, rather than at the back.

[DREW WILEY]

Oh, you can use a 600 on the original Compact with a tophat board. I personally have no problem
with the Fuji 600C.

[Sal Santamaura]

Is it all black or is the bed blonde (clear epoxy finish right over the custom plywood)? If blonde it is the original Compact...Another indicator of the original compact is that the focus knob is on the side, rather than at the back.

Looking at the photos linked in post #5, it appears to be a Compact, not Compact II, even though it's all black.

When I purchased my first 4x5 from Dick, he agreed to spray all of it black, even the edges which, in that model, were usually left with their wood showing through a clear coat. Upon delivery, he requested that, should anyone notice and ask about the unique finish, I tell them it was a factory error. For some reason, it must have been problematic for him to accomplish, so he didn't want to make any more that way.