I got a bee in my bonnet about Cameras Lucidae and Obscurae this morning. They are simple devices used to transfer images to a drawing surface. The ad above is the most widely known variety of Camera Lucida, a cheap and flimsy model which I saw once in a thrift store and decided it was too crappy to waste half a buck on. It is a pretty fanciful depiction, as the posture of the artist is considerably different from the peering through a hole that you must do to use it properly. Also, it…
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