Click on any picture for full size image.
The
Prosch Duplex shutter, available in 1886, was the first flagship of
the Prosch Manufacturing company. It was offered with no less than 13
different size openings ranging from 3/4" to 3 1/2" for various
lenses. This shutter was also purported to have a few custom sizes, or
lens fittings, manufactured by special request. The first year of
production shutters did not have the rotary stop. This was added as an
option in the second year, After that, virtually all had the rotary stop
assembly.
This is a plate showing the Prosch Duplex
Stereoscopic shutter. 
It
is actually two Duplex shutters on a special frame with a connecting release
bar. I'm not really sure when this was first brought in production, though
it's confirmed to be available in two different sizes, No. 1 and No. 2, as early
as 1888. Later, the Triplex was offered in a similar
configuration.
A
fast shutter designed for demanding action photography such as sporting events
and horse racing (remember, this was the late 1880's) was the Prosch Rapid (left).
Much faster than the Duplex, this shutter was offered in two sizes with
either a 1" or 1 1/2 " opening.
Prosch's
Eclipse shutter (right) presented an elegantly designed dual leaf mechanism.
When cocked, one leaf would cover the opening. Upon pulling the string at
the top, the hair trigger release would allow the first leaf to swing away from
the opening and the second would swing in to close the opening. The speed
of all this was determined by the position of the tension spring along an
arc. The Eclipse was the economy shutter offering. Originally priced
at nearly half that of the Duplex.
The Prosch Athlete has been identified in at least two
variations. The line drawing here shows the shutter without the Athlete
nameplate directly above the lens mount. The name is engraved on the
spring lever side. The second variation has a nameplate just like the
Triplex. Note the massive spring! It provided enough power to trip
the shutter leaves as fast as 1/300 of a second!
Here's a large size picture of newer generation Prosch
shutter called the Triplex
Take a real closer look at two different size Triplex
shutters.
Click here to see a few Drop Shutters
Check out this outfit on a Bon Ton 4-tube lens.
This one is called a Butterfly Shutter. It's made of wood and
brass. A spring loads the motion. When tripped, an opening swings
past the lens exposing the film. While not marked, this shutter could
have been made by Anthony around 1890.
Front
Back
Not as old as the others on this page but it is one of my favorite designs.
The Thorton Picard roller-blind shutter. This operates on the same
principle as an old fashion window blind.
