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27. 01. 10. - 16:00

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27. 01. 10. - 16:00

Vienna gallery to auction world's oldest camera

Vienna gallery WestLicht in Vienna-Neubau says it is to auction off what it claims is the oldest and possibly most expensive camera in the world.

Gallery bosses said today (Weds) that the 29 May auction of a "Daguerréotype Giroux" - the first commercially-produced camera - would be "an historic sensation of the first rank".

They added they expect bidding to beat the world-record price of 576,000 Euros for a camera.

The starting price has been set at 200,000 Euros, the gallery said, adding that the camera would likely sell for between 500,000 and 700,000 Euros.

Gallery officials also said the camera, which was in pristine condition, had been in the possession of a private individual in northern Germany for many years.

The camera was manufactured by Alphonse Giroux, the brother-in-law of Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, in September 1839 in Paris. Daguerre, who invented photography, personally autographed it as a sign of its authenticity.

For more information, see: www.westlicht-auction.com

Austrian Times

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