Where can I buy a camera lucida?
Although it seems no new ones had been manufactured by anyone for some years, very recently one has come on the market with what the manufacturer says is a revised optical design. I don’t have any experience with this particular one, but you can find information about it at www.camera-lucida.com/. Also, used ones of a type manufactured for many years in France regularly appear on eBay (Chambre Claire Universelle, Claire-vue, and Lon are three of the more common names under which these are listed, although variations, such as brass or nickel-plate, add to the choices). Below is a typical French-made (by Berville of Paris) camera lucida of the type that frequently appears on eBay. This one is nickel-plated, but polished brass is another variation. Note the twelve lenses in slots in the case, all of which are needed in order to work with a full range of image magnifications. Without taking the time to describe the theory of operation of a camera lucida, I note that if you buy one of these
