American Optical Co. (Scovill Mfg. Co., proprietors) (New York City, NY)
Wooden Case - c. 1883
Appears to fit several
4x5" Ne Plus Ultra sized plate holders
Notes: Early
features: box joints instead of spline joints (usual for Scovill);
two-piece clasp, requiring inletting into the wood, has a spring-loaded
retention piece - once closed, it will not open, like the later,
one-piece clasp. Has stamp on the top that reads: "Scovill Manufacturing
Co. New York". This is the same stamp as on the
Ne Plus Ultra LP962.
Outside dimensions: 8"Lx4"Wx7⅞"H. Inside dimensions: 7⅜"Lx3⅝"W (narrowed to 3½" by a post-production extra wood slat at the top) x6¼"H (bottom height; there is some more headroom in the top). The box was empty when found; its dimension of 3⅝" is too narrow for even the narrowest of American Optical/Scovill cameras, so it is assumed to have been for plate holders.
References:
