Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY)
Focusing Lens Variation 2 - c. 1880's
Notes:
Just like Scovill Focusing Lens Variation 1, appears to be a rapid rectilinear. In this case, this lens was found on Scovill's Pocket Bicycle Camera, and it is the "S.M.C. Lens" that comes with the camera according to the catalog descriptions. The lens would have to be a wide angle or extreme wide angle, judging from the extremely short bellows draw of the camera. It has been mounted in a barrel that screws in or out of a combined collar/flange. The threads on the barrel/collar are much coarser than typical assembly threads on brass barrel lenses, so it was apparently used for focusing. This is a necessary property of a lens on the Scovill's Pocket Bicycle Camera, since the bellows are fixed, and the camera therefore cannot focus using the bellows as other view cameras do. The barrel also has a slot cut for Waterhouse stops, but it is in the rotating part of the barrel, which means the focus is limited to the positions when the slot is facing upwards.
References:
How to Make Pictures, 4th edition, Henry Clay Price, Scovill Mfg.
Co., publishers (New York, NY), dated 1887, copyright 1886, p.a16
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY),
undated but about January 1888, p 44
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 for Bicyclists)
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
The Scovill & Adams
Co. (New York, NY), distributed by Oscar Foss (San Francisco, CA), June
1890, p. 39 (as the Pocket Photographic
Outfit for Bicyclists)
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)
