E. & H.T. Anthony & Co.

Knickerbocker View Camera

 

 

 

Anthony Catalog August 1895, p. 26

 

5x7" example having an Anthony label and a Greenpoint Optical stamp

Metal label on top of front standard

Stamp on the base: "Greenpoint Optical Co.  Brooklyn, N.Y."

Patent stamps on the end of the base (obscured by a drilled hole):
"June 21, 1881 (plate holder, J.M. Howe - generally found on Blair Camera Co. cameras),
Nov. 11, 1884 (hooks for making base rigid, even though not used on this camera),
May 18, 1886 (swing),
Mar. 27, 1888 (spring back)"

 

 

 

 

6½x8½" example having a Greenpoint Optical label

Celluloid label on the lower part of the front standard/platform: "Greenpoint Optical Co. / Makers / Brooklyn, N.Y."

Patent stamps on the cross-bracing of the base:
"Nov. 11, 1884" (hooks for making base rigid, even though not used on this camera),
"Mar. 27, 1888" (spring back)"
"May 18, 1886" (swing system),
"June 21, 1881" (plate holder, patented by J.M. Howe - generally found on Blair Camera Co. cameras),

 

Date Introduced: c. 1892 ; Years Manufactured: c.1892 - c.1897
Construction: rear focus via push-pull; single swing; reversing by removable back
Materials: mahogany body; cherry base; black fabric bellows; brass hardware
Sizes Offered: 5x7 (photos above); 5x8; 6½x8½; 8x10
Notes:

     The Knickerbocker is a light-weight camera having unique rear tilt hardware. 

     Despite its name, The Knickerbocker was not made in Anthony's New York City factory.  This model was apparently produced in Anthony's subsidiary factory on Long Island: The Greenpoint Optical Co., as both the examples bear a Greenpoint label or stamp.  The 5x7" example above has a normal E.&H.T. Anthony metal label, but then is also stamped: "Greenpoint Optical Co. / Brooklyn, New York".  The 6½x8½ example above has a celluloid label reading: Greenpoint Optical Co. / Makers / Brooklyn, N.Y."  Thus, Anthony continues the tradition so prevalent in Scovill products of cameras produced in one of their two factories having names reminiscent of the other factory.

References:
Illustrated Catalogue of Photographic Equipments and Materials for Amateurs, E. & H.T. Anthony & Co. (New York, NY), January 1891, p. 25-26
Illustrated Catalogue of Photographic Equipments and Materials for Amateurs, E. & H.T. Anthony & Co. (New York, NY), 1892, p. 48
Descriptive Catalogue and Price List of Photographic Apparatus, E. & H.T. Anthony & Co. (New York, NY), November 1893, p.48
The International Annual of Anthony's Photographic Bulletin Vol. VI 1894, edited by A.H. Elliott and F.P. Smith, E. & H.T. Anthony & Co. (New York, NY), 1893, p. 71 (list of view and other cameras)
Illustrated Catalogue of Photographic Equipments and Materials for Amateurs, E. & H.T. Anthony & Co. (New York, NY), September, 1894, p. 25-26
Wilson's Cyclopaedic Photography, Edward L. Wilson (New York, NY), copyright 1894, p. 462
The International Annual of Anthony's Photographic Bulletin Vol. VII 1895,E. & H.T. Anthony & Co. (New York, NY), 1894, ads p. 99
Illustrated Catalogue of Photographic Equipments and Materials for Amateurs, E. & H.T. Anthony & Co. (New York, NY), August, 1895, p. 25-26
Illustrated Catalogue of Photographic Equipments and Materials for Amateurs, E. & H.T. Anthony & Co. (New York, NY), December, 1895, p. 25-26
Illustrated Catalogue of Photographic Equipments and Materials for Amateurs, E. & H.T. Anthony & Co. (New York, NY), August, 1896, p. 25-26
Illustrated Catalogue of Photographic Materials, Thos. H. McCollin & Co. (Philadelphia, PA) undated, c. 1897, p. 46

 

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