American Optical Company
Scovill Mfg. Co., Prop'rs

Cone View Camera (Model No.'s 51-58)

 

Descriptive Catalogue and Price List of the Photographic Apparatus Manufactured by the American Optical Co., Scovill Mfg. Co., proprietors and managers (New York, NY), Sept. 1884, p.52

 

Manufacturer: American Optical Co. New York, NY factory
Date Introduced:
  patented 1881; Years Manufactured: c.1881 - c.1884
Construction: rear focus via push-pull; 0/1/2 swing; non-reversing; three-piece lens board
Materials:
Sizes Offered: #51=4 ½x5 ½; #52=6 ½x8 ½; #53=8x10;#54=10x12; #55=11x14; #56=14x17; #57=17x20; #58=20x24
Notes:

     Scovill / American Optical made a number of of cone or tapered bellows cameras.  See American Optical/Scovill Back Focus Tapering Bellows Field View Cameras - Chronology and Design for history of Scovill/American Optical camera models of this basic type.

     This model is still advertised in 1884, but it is essentially an artifact of the wet plate era, with its square ground glass frame that must be removed and replaced by massive, square, wet plate-type plate holders.  It is non-reversing, since the wet plate can be mounted in its holder either horizontally or vertically, or just a square plate used, as the photographer desires.

References:
Descriptive Catalogue and Price List of the Photographic Apparatus Manufactured by the American Optical Co., Scovill Mfg. Co., proprietors and managers (New York, NY), Sept. 1884, p.52
 

 

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