Auto-Graflex Camera in Underwater Housing

This underwater camera housing holds an Auto-Graflex 4x5” camera body. It was first used by W.H. Longley of Goucher College in 1918. Longley later teamed with Charles Martin of the National Geographic Society to take the first underwater color autochrome photographs with this outfit. The team exploded a pound of flash powder, floated on three pontoons, and used a reflector to take pictures off Dry Tortugas, Florida. A selection of the photographs and the story were published in National Geographic Magazine in January 1927.

From its invention in 1839, the camera has evolved to fit many needs, from aerial to underwater photography and everything in between. Cameras allow both amateur and professional photographers to capture the world around us. The Smithsonian’s historic camera collection includes rare and unique examples of equipment, and popular models, related to the history of the science, technology, and art of photography.