I have always wondered about which hoods are appropriate for the various Graflex models. For example, it looks as though the RB-D came with the fur edged hood, and most of the other common models did not. Some models came both ways in the course of their production runs. Of course, over the years hoods got switched around to meet the need at hand, and now our primary concern is just that the hood is in good shape and not falling apart.

But, from a collector's point of view, I want to get the right hood on a body. The current example is a 3X4 RB-B, which came with a perfectly usable but incorrect postwar synthetic hood with silver "Graflex" (the camera dates to about 1924). I have an older hood that will fit the camera, but it is a fur edged hood. Judging from the catalog photos and my other series B cameras it appears that the series B was always supplied with a furless hood. They were also all evidently the early synthetic variety that has not survived well, as they turn to stone and disintegrate, which is doubtless why my example has the more modern hood that it does.

So can anyone shed some light on what (if any) logic Graflex applied when selecting the hood for a particular camera model?

I've often wondered about this myself. I believe that the Graflex term for it is chenille.

For instance, the Home Portrait doesn't have it, but the Press does.

Possibly, it's intended for cameras used mainly in outdoor situations.

Were chenille-topped hoods ever an option? Did photographers ever
add chenille?