Scovill Mfg. Co.

Scovill's Bicycle Camera
Pocket Bicycle Camera
Ne Plus Ultra Bicycle Camera
Pocket Photographic Outfit

Scovill Catalog, 1889, p. 34
scopocketbikecat.jpg (80064 bytes)
scopocketbikecatdetail.jpg (24939 bytes)

3¼x4¼


Date Introduced: - ; Years Manufactured: c.1885-1892
Construction: back focus via push-pull; no swing; non-reversing; no lensboard apparent in engraving
Materials: imitation mahogany body; cherry base; black fabric bellows; brass hardware (if the same as other Ne Plus Ultras)
Sizes Offered: 3¼x4¼ only
Notes: Stated in catalogs to weigh only 12 oz.  The photographs above are of a very light camera, indeed.  There are only three Scovill/American Optical models advertised at the 3¼x4¼ format, the other two being the Mignon, which cost twice as much as the Pocket Bicycle, and the Petite Camera, a scaled-down version of the 76 model.  Due to the inexpensive wood used in the example above, it is thought to be the Pocket Bicycle.  Both the Mignon and Petite would have a nicer finish and grade of wood.

References:
(All references use the same engraving)
American Chemical Review, Vol. 5 No. 5, August 11, 1885 (As Scovill's Bicycle Camera)

Scovill's Photo. Series No. 20, Dry Plate Making for Amateurs, Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY), 1886, p. a17
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List, Scovill Mfg. Co., distributed by C.H. Codman & Co. (Boston, MA), September 1888, p. 36 (As the Pocket Bicycle)
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List, The Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY), January 1889, p. 34 (as Pocket Photographic Outfit)
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List, The Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY), distributed by Horgan, Robey & Co. (Boston, MA), June 1891, p. 32
American Annual of Photography and Photographic Times Almanac for 1892, The Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY), 1891, p. 103
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List, The Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY), January 1892, p. 33 (As the Pocket Bicycle)

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