Scovill Mfg. Co., Waterbury, CT & New Haven, CT

 

Favorite Outfit(A-EEE)

 

 

Scovill's Photo. Series No. 20, Dry Plate Making for Amateurs, Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY), 1886, p. a3-a5 (A-E, AA-DD)
ScFavACat.jpg (27187 bytes)

Favorite View having a 5 x 5" ground glass, natural varnished white wood, loose ground glass frame, serial no. 645.  The camera bears a Buchanan, Bromley & Co., Philadelphia" label.  The camera and its carrying case are have been heavily scuffed and soiled.  The finish of the camera has darkened over time - unusual for a cased camera.
1264.Scovill-FavoriteAD-5x4-a-w.case-2000.jpg
1264.Scovill-FavoriteAD-5x4-a-cam.only-1500.jpg
1264.Scovill-FavoriteAD-5x4-b-750.jpg1264.Scovill-FavoriteAD-5x4-c2-750.jpg
1264.Scovill-FavoriteAD-5x4-d-750.jpg1264.Scovill-FavoriteAD-5x4-e-750.jpg
1264.Scovill-FavoriteAD-5x4-f-gg.on-1500.jpg
1264.Scovill-FavoriteAD-5x4-f-gg.off-1500.jpg
1264.Scovill-FavoriteAD-5x4-bottom-1500.jpg
1264.Scovill-FavoriteAD-5x4-top-1500.jpg

Celluloid label, upper front standard, reading: "Buchanan, Bromley & Co., Philadelphia, PA".  Buchanan, Bromley was a large seller of Scovill products.  The Philadelphia Photographer was one of the early photography periodicals, started in 1864.
1264.Scovill-FavoriteAD-5x4-label.upper.front.std-1500.jpg

Stamp, serial number "645", bottom of front standard.
1264.Scovill-FavoriteAD-5x4-stamp.lower.front.std-1500.jpg

Three stamps of the serial number 645, lower part of ground glass frame, and the tilting and non-tilting parts of the rear standard.
1264.Scovill-FavoriteAD-5x4-stamps.lower.rear.std-1500.jpg

Photographs of the inside top of the carrying case: left = as received, and right = contrast enhanced using blue light only.
One inscription in pencil reads: "W.H. 84 State St.".  Another, in blue pencil or pen reads: "12-91 - Walter Pierson, Amateur Photographer, 360 Bridge St., Brooklyn, Ny".
Assuming that 12-91 indicates 1891, a search of the 1880 and 1900 US censes were made for Walter H. Pierson of Brooklyn, with no success.
1264.Scovill-FavoriteAD-5x4-case.inside.top-both-2000.jpg


Another 5 x 5", natural varnished white wood, loose ground glass frame, serial no. 751.  This example has light wood, probably appearing much as it would have when new.
134.scovill-favorite-5x4a-w.holder&case-2000.jpg
134.scovill-favorite-5x4a-cam.only-1500.jpg
134.scovill-favorite-5x4b-750.jpg134.scovill-favorite-5x4c-750.jpg
134.scovill-favorite-5x4d-750.jpg134.scovill-favorite-5x4e-750.jpg
134.scovill-favorite-5x4f-gg.on-1500.jpg
134.scovill-favorite-5x4f-gg.off-1500.jpg
134.scovill-favorite-5x4-bottom-1500.jpg

Stamp, serial number "751", bottom of front standard.
134.scovill-favorite-5x4-stamp.ser.no.front.std-1500.jpg

Two stamps of serial numbers: Top: "751" on the end of the tilting part of the rear standard, and "551"? (maybe 681, 661, but the first digit is not "7"), top surface of the platform of the rear standard.
134.scovill-favorite-5x4-stamps.ser.nos.rear.std-1500.jpg


 

5 x 8, natural varnished white wood, hinged ground glass frame. serial no. 793
419.scovill-favorite-5x8a-w.flyer&case-2000.jpg
419.scovill-favorite-5x8a-cam.only-1500.jpg
419.scovill-favorite-5x8b-750.jpg419.scovill-favorite-5x8c-750.jpg
419.scovill-favorite-5x8d-750.jpg419.scovill-favorite-5x8e-750.jpg
419.scovill-favorite-5x8f-gg.up-1500.jpg
419.scovill-favorite-5x8f-gg.down-1500.jpg
419.scovill-favorite-5x8-bottom-1500.jpg

Three serial number stamps: top: bottom of lens board (866), middle: bottom of rising part of front standard (793), and bottom: bottom of stationary part of front standard (793).

Two more serial number stamps: top: bottom of ground glass frame (793), and bottom: top surface of the platform of the rear standard (793), the "7" obscured by the thumbscrew.
419.scovill-favorite-5x8-stamps.two.rear.standard-1500.jpg

5 x 8, stained white wood, hinged ground glass frame. serial no. 859
1225.scovill.favorite.stained-5x8-a-with.case&accessories-2000.jpg
1225.scovill.favorite.stained-5x8-a-cam.only-1500.jpg
1225.scovill.favorite.stained-5x8-b-750.jpg1225.scovill.favorite.stained-5x8-c-750.jpg
1225.scovill.favorite.stained-5x8-d-750.jpg1225.scovill.favorite.stained-5x8-e-750.jpg
1225.scovill.favorite.stained-5x8-f-ground.glass.closed-1500.jpg
1225.scovill.favorite.stained-5x8-f-ground.glass.open-1500.jpg
1225.scovill.favorite.stained-5x8-bottom-1500.jpg

6½ x 8½, natural varnished white wood, post-manufacture hinges added to ground glass frame. serial or assembly no. 10
1262.Scovill.Mfg.Co.Favorite-6x8-a.with.case&plate.holder-2000.jpg
1262.Scovill.Mfg.Co.Favorite-6x8-a.camera.only-1500.jpg
1262.Scovill.Mfg.Co.Favorite-6x8-b-750.jpg1262.Scovill.Mfg.Co.Favorite-6x8-c-750.jpg
1262.Scovill.Mfg.Co.Favorite-6x8-d-750.jpg1262.Scovill.Mfg.Co.Favorite-6x8-e-750.jpg
1262.Scovill.Mfg.Co.Favorite-6x8-f.gg.up-1500.jpg
1262.Scovill.Mfg.Co.Favorite-6x8-f.gg.down-1500.jpg
1262.Scovill.Mfg.Co.Favorite-6x8-bottom-1500.jpg

Stamped serial no. 10 on lens board and lower front standard
1262.Scovill.Mfg.Co.Favorite-6x8-stamps.ser.no.10.front.standard-1500.jpg

Stamped serial no. 10 on lower ground glass frame and lower rear standard
1262.Scovill.Mfg.Co.Favorite-6x8-stamps.ser.no.10.ground.glass.frame-1500.jpg

Scovill & Adams Co. Plate Holder
1262.Scovill.Mfg.Co.Favorite-6x8-plate.holder.perspective-1500.jpg1262.Scovill.Mfg.Co.Favorite-6x8-plate.holder.front-1500.jpg

Stamp on front of plate holder
1262.Scovill.Mfg.Co.Favorite-6x8-plate.holder.stamp.front-1500.jpg

 

 

Manufacturer: Scovill Mfg. Co., New Haven, CT factory
Date Introduced:
- ; Years Manufactured: c.1885-1898
Construction: back focus via push-pull; single swing; reversing by two tripod mounts
Materials: white wood (e.g. basswood) body; cherry bed; black fabric bellows; brass hardware
Sizes Offered: #A=4x5 (shown in photos above); #B=5x8 (shown in photos below); #C=5x8 stereo; #D=6½x8½; #E=8x10; all sizes and letters have folding beds
Notes:

     This is a basic no-frills camera; came with a nickeled Waterbury lens w/ insertable stops (by 1889, the stops were revolving), plate-holder and wooden case. #'s AA-DD add a dark cloth, plates and ruby lantern. #'s AAA-EEE add what's in the AA's and a developing outfit and a printing outfit.  The letter designations were general, and were also used to describe Ne Plus Ultra outfits.

     It is of the few vertical 4x5 format cameras made, although it would be more accurately called 5x5; it had a special 4x5 holder which could be attached either horizontally or vertically without repositioning the camera.  This was a common approach in the early years of the dry plate era, especially with smaller formats, for which weight was not much of an issue.  Later, when weight was more of a concern, cameras were built barely larger than the plates they took, a number of ways being invented to allow the back to be repositioned.

     The Favorite has very similar sizes and offerings to the earlier Tourist Amateur Outfits, and may actually be a re-naming or continuation of the same, since the Tourist Amateur Outfits apparently ceased being advertised about the time the Favorite started being advertised. 

     Not all Favorite Views match the catalog descriptions.  The catalogs descriptions tout a "vertical shifting front", whereas the engravings that come with those descriptions show a camera that clearly does not have a vertical shifting front.  Cameras such as the above examples demonstrate that some do (5x8) and some don't (5x5 and 6½x8½). 

     Most Favorite Views have loose ground glass frames, that are easily lost, but, as the example above show, some have hinged frames to make the ground glass hard to lose, and some don't.

     Some Putnam Marvel cameras are the Favorite View stamped and apparently resold by Putnam.  Some Favorite Views are not even stamped by Scovill.

References:
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List, Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY), distributed by Andrew J. Smith (Providence, RI), 1886, pp. 27-29, 32 (A-E, AA-DD, AAA-DDD)
Scovill's Photo. Series No. 12, A Manual of Photographic Chemistry, Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY), 1886, ads p. 11-13 (A-E, AA-DD)
Scovill's Photo. Series No. 20, Dry Plate Making for Amateurs, Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY), 1886, p. a3-a5 (A-E, AA-DD)
Obrig Camera Co. (New York, NY) Catalog, 1886
How to Make Pictures, 4th edition, Henry Clay Price, Scovill Mfg. Co., publishers (New York, NY), dated 1887, copyright 1886, p.a2-a5
Photographic Lenses and How to Select Them, James W. Queen & Co. (Philadelphia, PA), 1887, p. 27
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List, Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY), distributed by C.H. Codman & Co. (Boston, MA), April 1887, pp. 25-28 (A-E, AA-DD, AAA-EEE)
Scovill Manf'g Co. Catalogue Photographic Goods, June, 1887, David Tucker & Co. (Buffalo, NY), June, 1887, pp.169-172
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List
,
Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY), July 1887, pp. 25-28 (A-E, AA-DD, AAA-EEE)
The American Annual of Photography and Photographic Times Almanac for 1888, C.W. Canfield, ed.; Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY), copyright 1887, ads p. 65
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List, Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY), undated but about January 1888, pp. 23-26 (A-E, AA-DD, AAA-EEE)
An Illustrated Catalogue of Photographic Cameras, Lenses and Other Apparatus and Materials for Photography, W.H. Walmsley & Co. (Philadelphia, PA), April 1, 1888, p.5
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List, Scovill Mfg. Co., May 1888, pp. 10-13 (A-E, AA-DD, AAA-EEE)
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List, Scovill Mfg. Co., distributed by John Wanamaker (Philadelphia, PA), June 1888, pp. 10-13 (A-E, AA-DD, AAA-EEE)

How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List, Scovill Mfg. Co., distributed by C.H. Codman & Co. (Boston, MA), September 1888, pp. 10-13 (AE, AA-DD, AAA-EEE)
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List, Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY), November 1888, pp. 10-13 (A-E, AA-DD, AAA-EEE)
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List, The Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY), January 1889, pp. 10-12 (A-E)
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List, Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY), distributed by Buchanan, Bromley & Co. (Philadelphia, PA) Catalog, 1888 (A-E)
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List, The Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY), distributed by Buchanan, Bromley & Co. (Philadelphia, PA) Catalog, 1889 (A-E)
Photographic Materials 1889
, James W. Queen & Co. (Philadelphia, PA), 1889, pp. 49-50
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List, The Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY), 1890, pp. 13-15 (A-E)
American Annual of Photography and Photographic Times Almanac for 1890, The Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY), ads p. 93
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List, The Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY), distributed by Oscar Foss (San Francisco, CA), June 1890, pp. 12-14 (A-E; AAA-EEE)
Photographic Materials Illustrated, John Wanamaker, Philadelphia, PA, c.1890, p.7 (but illustrated with an engraving of a Waterbury View Camera)
Photographic Material, Catalogue O & P, James W. Queen & Co. (Philadelphia, PA), 1891, p. 35-36 (as Standard Cameras)
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List, The Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY), January 1891, pp. 12-14
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List, The Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY), distributed by Sargent & Co. (Cleveland, OH), April 1891, pp. 5-7
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List, The Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY), distributed by Horgan, Robey & Co. (Boston, MA), June 1891, pp. 5-7 (A-EEE)
American Annual of Photography and Photographic Times Almanac for 1892, The Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY), 1891, p. 102
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List, The Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY), January 1892, pp. 4-6 (A-EEE)
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List, The Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY), abt. June 1892, pp. 4-6 (A-EEE)
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List
, The Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY), April 1892, pp. 4-6 (A-EEE)
American Annual of Photography and Photographic Times Almanac for 1893, The Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY), 1892, ads p. 146
The American Annual of Photography and Photographic Times Almanac for 1894, The Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY), 1893, p. 110
Catalogue of Photographic Goods and All Articles Pertaining to Photography, The Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY), undated c.1895, pp.16-17
How to Make Photographs and a Descriptive Catalogue of Photographic Materials Illustrated, The Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY), 1896, p. 23-25 (A-EEE)

 



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