Scovill Mfg. Co.
American Optical Company
1888 Instantaneous Outfit
Manufacturer:
American Optical Co. New York, NY factory The 1888 was the designation
for an outfit, meaning it included
one of the three cameras,
lens, one
Scovill Universal
Shutter, plate-holder, and canvas case. The
individual cameras had been given their own model names previously. References:
Back to American Optical
Co. / Scovill Mfg. Co. (alphabetical)
Date Introduced: 1888; Years Manufactured:
c. 1888
Construction: rear
focus; single swing; reversing by two tripod mounts; three-piece,
shifting lens board
Materials: mahogany body; cherry base; red
leather bellows; brass hardware
Sizes Offered: #1=76
Camera (presumably the 4x5 version) #2=Petite
Camera (3¼x4¼); #3=Mignon
Camera (3¼x4¼)
Notes:
Photographic Times 15, 1885, p. 583
(Instantaneous Shutter only)
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY),
May 1888, p. 19
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
Scovill Mfg. Co., distributed by John Wanamaker
(Philadelphia, PA), June 1888,
p. 19
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY), distributed by C.H.
Codman & Co. (Boston, MA), September
1888, p. 19
How to Make
Photographs and Descriptive Price List, Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York,
NY), November 1888, p. 19
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY), distributed by Buchanan, Bromley
& Co. (Philadelphia, PA) Catalog, 1888
