G. Gennert, Rochester, New York, NY

 

The Burlington Camera

 

Descriptive Catalogue of Photographic Apparatus and Supplies, G. Gennert (New York, NY), c. 1893, p. 26

6 ½ x 8 ½", serial no. 1551.





Label, celluloid, bottom of front standard

Stamp, top of ground glass frame: "Pat. May 7, 1889 (this probably refers to Erastus Barker's patent No. 402711 for a camera having a spring back)

Stamp, large digits stamped separately, probably the unique serial number of the camera.  The Gennert cameras of this era all have such large digit numbers.

Stamp, inside of lens board, an assembly number.

This camera came with a print frame stamped: "G. Gennert  Manufacturer  New York".  This is the same stamp that appears on many Gennert cameras of this era (e.g., Gennert Oxford).

This camera came with two unmarked plate holders.  Gennert cameras of this era had a profile that is unlike any of the holders made by other manufacturers.  The profile consists of a ramp near the end of the holder from which the dark slide is drawn, shown below:

8 x 10"; this camera is serial no. 1475.




 

 

 

Date Introduced: - ; Years Manufactured: c.1893 - c.1895
Construction:  rear focus via push-pull, double swing, reversible by removable back,
Materials:  mahogany body, cherry base, brass hardware, black fabric bellows, French polish wood finish
Sizes Offered: 5x7, 5x8, 6 ½x8 ½, 8x10, 14x17
Notes:

Gennert Back Focus View Cameras

     It has not been easy sorting out the rear focus view cameras of the G. Gennert Co., despite the fact that these rear focus cameras are the most commonly encountered of Gennert cameras.  Gennert ran a distant third place to the two largest suppliers of photographic equipment: American Optical Co./Scovill Mfg. Co. and E. & H.T. Anthony & Co.  Gennert catalogs, the best source of information on which designs or models of view cameras were produced and when, are woefully rare.  The result of such rarity may be illustrated by the story of the Burlington, Nancy Hanks, and Extra Quality View models, narrated below.

First information:
     The 1893 Gennert catalog (Descriptive Catalogue of Photographic Apparatus and Supplies, G. Gennert (New York, NY), c. 1893, p. 26) shows a rear focus model is called The Burlington Camera; its engraving is shown above.

Second information:
     In a 1896 advertising page (Photo Beacon Vol. VIII No. 7, The Beacon Publishing Co. (Chicago, IL) July 1896, glued in G. Gennert page No. 3), The Burlington View Camera was not mentioned, but there was a camera termed The Nancy Hanks View Camera, which used the identical engraving that had previously been used for The Burlington.  The most reasonable conclusion is that The Nancy Hanks was identical to The Burlington Camera and is merely a new name, a name that commemorates the mother of Abraham Lincoln, Nancy Hanks Lincoln. 

Third information:
   
 The 1901 catalog states that The Nancy Hanks Camera has a shellac finish, not polished, yet the observed example cameras of this design are French polished, as are most of Gennert's view cameras of this era.  This is a hint that there might be a flaw in assuming that The Nancy Hanks Camera is another name for The Burlington Camera, but what?  Since they share the engravings, they are clearly closely related.

Fourth information:
     A catalog dated Jan. 1, 1895 finally lays it out, having in the same catalog both The Nancy Hanks Camera (page 40) and The Burlington Camera (page 45).  As with the catalogs in which the models only appear one at a time, the two cameras in the same catalog are illustrated using the same engravings.  In the written descriptions, we discover that they do, indeed, have the same design and construction, even having the same patented spring back, and use the same type of holders, the Extralite.  We also discover that The Nancy Hanks Camera is only made in 8x10" size, whereas The Burlington Camera is made in 5x7, 5x8, 6½x8½", 8x10, 11x14, and 14x17" sizes.  And, as previously noted in the third information, the wood on The Nancy Hanks Camera is finished with one layer of shellac, whereas The Burlington Camera is French polished (still using shellac, but with much more labor; see description of wood finishes on this web site for a description of the French polish technique).  As a consequence of the difference in labor, The Nancy Hanks Camera, in its only size: 8x10", had a price of $17.50, whereas The Burlington Camera 8x10" size had a price of $25.00 (both models sold without lenses).

Some more information from the 1895 catalog:
     Usually, camera catalogs are organized to show all the studio cameras consecutively, then show all the view cameras.  What was meant by a view camera in the day is one intended to be taken into the field, usually lighter than a studio camera and having a platform or bed that folds or dismantles to make it small.  Contrary to the general rule, The Nancy Hanks View Camera is found in the Jan. 1, 1895 catalog to be listed between two studio cameras, and the other view cameras are mixed with folding leather-covered and box cameras.  This mixing matters because there is another camera amongst the studio cameras that appears to be another model identical to The Nancy Hanks and The Burlington, except that its back is different - an older style that is less handy than the patented spring back.  This camera is called Gennert's Extra Quality View Camera.  It is offered in sizes 10x12, 11x14, 14x17, 17x20, 18x22, and 20x24, thus ranging larger than The Burlington Camera.  While the description does not mention that it has a folding bed, and its engravings are from viewpoints that preclude seeing any indication of a break in the bed, it is, after all, called a view camera, which means it probably had one.  Therefore, this is yet another member in the Nancy Hanks/Burlington group of similar view cameras, which now contains three models, described as follows.

 

Similar Models of large rear-focus G. Gennert view cameras:

     All three variations are rear focus, double swing, front rise, push-pull focus, mahogany and cherry, brass hardware view cameras.  The vertical swing hinges from the bottom, and locks with a clip on the top.  The descriptions below indicate how they differ from one another in finish and back/plate holder.

The Burlington Camera:
Finish: French polish
Back: patent spring back and Extralite holder

The Nancy Hanks View Camera:
Finish: Shellac, no polish
Back: patent spring back and Extralite holder
8x10 only

Gennert's Extra Quality View Camera:
Finish: French polish
Back: slide-in book-type plate holder

 

Gennert Canvas Case Construction
     Three Gennert cameras: the Oxford Camera LP416, the Brighton Camera LP524, and two Burlington Cameras on this page: the Burlington Camera LP788 (6½x8½ above) and Burlington Camera LP681 (8x10 below) were purchased with canvas cases. All of said cases have a similar style, in that the top is hinged on one side, then has a small overhanging flap on two sides, and a large flap on the front. Since they were obtained from different sources, we can safely assume that these are the original cases that were provided by Gennert along with the cameras.

 

References:
Descriptive Catalogue of Photographic Apparatus and Supplies, G. Gennert (New York, NY), c. 1893, p. 26
Descriptive Catalogue of Photographic Apparatus and Supplies, G. Gennert (New York, NY), dated Jan. 1, 1895, p.45

8 x 10", serial no. 1673.





Label, celluloid, on the lower part of the front standard.  Oddly enough, when the camera was purchased, it had a label for a Rochester Optical New Model where its own label should be.  Nail holes were present outside the ROC label, showing that the original label had been exchanged for the erroneous label.  A Gennert label from another camera was installed, it being the same size as indicated by the nail holes.  The "new" and correct type label is shown below.

The serial number, on the rear of the platform/bed: "1673" in large digits stamped separately, as serial numbers usually are.


8 x 10"; this camera is serial no. 2174.


 

 

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