Scovill Mfg. Co., Waterbury, CT & New Haven, CT
New York Dry Plate (601-603) Outfit
Scovill Dry Plate Making for
Amateurs, 1886, p. 9
An Illustrated Cataloge of Cameras, Lenses and Other Apparatus
and Materials for Photography, Dated April 1, 1884, W.H.Walmsey
(Philadelphia, PA), p.6
Note that the description below specifically mentions sycamore
wood - which is why the New York Camera has a strong flecked
appearance.
Also note that, lacking a second tripod hole on the camera (like the
Waterbury camera), the New York Camera came with a metal piece
called a reverser. As many New York Cameras that
I have owned, I have never once found a reversier in the carrying case.
5 x 8", serial number 61
Stamp, upper lens board:
"Scovill Mfg. Co., N.Y."
Stamp, lower lens board: serial
number "61"
Stamp, rear end of platform
frame: "Scovill Mfg. Co., N.Y."
Stamp, lower part of ground
glass frame: serial number "61"
Stamp, lower part of rear
standard, hidden under the ground glass frame: serial number "61"
another 5 x 8", serial no. 51.
The box not the normal Scovill carrying case, but is marked Samuel Peck
& Co., owned by Scovill in the 1870's and 1880's. I put it in
there to protect its nearly pristine condtion.
Bottom
Top
Stamp, upper lens board:
"Scovill Mfg. Co., N.Y."
Stamp, rear end of platform
frame: "Scovill Mfg. Co., N.Y."
Plate holder, stamped: "American
Optical Co., Scovill Mfg. Co., N.Y."Stamp
The right end is a replacement manufactured from a somewhat larger
Rochester Optical Co. holder.
Stamp, inside cover of box:
"Manufactured by / Samuel Peck & Co."
6 ½ x 8 ½, Serial No. 52
Stamp
near the top of the lens board: "Scovill Mfg. Co., N.Y. This
appears to be the same stamp as is on the rear of the camera platform,
and on both sides of the plate holder.
Note that while three of the screws holding the brass strip above the
lens board appear to be aligned, they have not been filed down to the
level of the strip, nor has the strip been draw filed. The strip
has horizontal lines arising from the varnish having been applied
horizontally.
Stamp, serial number "52" near the bottom of the lens board. This
number is repeated in three other spots on the camera.
Stamps, serial number "52" in two spots: 1) above the lever, near the
bottom of the ground glass frame, and 2) below the lever, on the moving
platform of the rear standard.
A photo of the same area as
the photo just above, showing the other "52" normally hidden by the
ground glass screen (just above the lever).
Also, at the bottom of the photo, the "Scovill Mfg. Co., N.Y." stamp
near the rear of the camera platform.
Manufacturer:
Scovill Mfg. Co., New Haven, CT factory Engravings of the
camera in catalogs are usually accompanied by a banner that states
"Introduced in 1884". The camera included has
a folding bed, a
thumbscrew on top of body for swing; the
outfit included tripod, Waterbury lens w/ insertable stops,
the wooden case, and what
looks like on of Scovill's pamphlet-catalogs: How to Make Photographs
and Descriptive Price List. The
included tripod featured the
Lightning Reverser top, since the camera had no provision for
reversing. The camera did have a quick-connect tripod mount rather
than a screw-type tripod socket.
The distinctive quarter-sawn sycamore is used for the
body and a thick veneer on the front. Each year
from 1886 to 1889, one size less per year was offered until stated to
have been discontinued. References:
Back to American Optical
Co. / Scovill Mfg. Co. (alphabetical)
Date Introduced: 1884 ;
Years Manufactured: 1884
- c.1889
Construction: back focus
via push-pull; single swing; reversing by patent tripod reverser
Materials: quarter-sawn
sycamore body, cherry base; white-wood (poplar
or equivalent) ground glass frame; black fabric bellows; brass
hardware;
Sizes Offered: #601=4 ¼x5 ½; #601A=4 ¼x6 ½;
#602=5x8; #603=6 ½x8 ½
Notes:
Scovill's Photo. Series No. 1, The Photographic
Amateur, 2nd Edition, J. Traill Taylor,
Scovill Mfg. Co. pub. (New York, NY), 1883,
2nd Ed. about 1885, p. a9
Scovill's Photo. Series No. 17 - First Lessons in Amateur Photography,
Randall Spaulding, Scovill Mfg. Co. pub. (New York, NY), copyright 1886,
p.a9
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY), distributed by
Andrew J. Smith (Providence, RI),
1886, p. 33
Scovill's Photo. Series No. 12,
Photographic Chemistry, Scovill Mfg. Co.
(New York, NY), 1886, p. a17
Scovill's Photo. Series No. 20, Dry
Plate Making for Amateurs, Scovill Mfg. Co. (New
York, NY), 1886, p. a9
Walzl's Photographic Journal and the Photographer's Friend, Richard
Walzl, pub. (Baltimore, MD) undated c.1886, p. 30
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY), distributed by
C.H. Codman & Co. (Boston, MA), April 1887, p.
31
Scovill Manf'g Co. Catalogue Photographic Goods, June, 1887, David
Tucker & Co. (Buffalo, NY), June, 1887, p.175
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY),
undated but about January 1888, p. 30
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY),
May 1888, p. 18
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
Scovill Mfg. Co., distributed by John Wanamaker
(Philadelphia, PA), June 1888,
p. 18
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. 18
How to Make
Photographs and Descriptive Price List, Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York,
NY), November 1888, p. 18
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY), distributed by Buchanan, Bromley
& Co. (Philadelphia, PA) Catalog, 1888; not in
the 1889 Buchanan Bromley & Co. Catalog
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
The Scovill & Adams Co.
(New York, NY), January 1889, p. 18 (601 only)
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
The Scovill & Adams Co.
(New York, NY), March 1889, p. 18 (601
only)
Not in the
Scovill & Adams March 1890 catalog
