Peter Keetman’s Enlarger

Our object of the month is a beautifully designed enlarger from the Spezial-Fabrik für moderne Projektions- u. Vergrößerungsapparate Müller & Wetzig in Dresden (Special Factory for Modern Projection and Enlarging Apparatus Müller & Wetzig in Dresden). It comes from the estate of Peter Keetman and was probably already used by his father, the banker and enthusiastic amateur photographer Alfred Keetman.

The enlarger was presumably manufactured in the 1920s. The handcrafted negative holder accommodates large-format glass plate negatives in 13 x 18 cm or 18 x 24 cm. A white stamp on the black lead lacquer with the abbreviation "D.R.P." indicates the German Imperial Patent. 

Peter Keetman started taking photographs with a Goerz Tenax bellows camera for glass negatives when he was about ten years old. It is therefore quite possible that Peter Keetman made his first prints with this enlarger.