Scovill Mfg. Co.
American Optical Company
Flandreau Camera
4x5" size and 5x7" size
4x5
5x7 Bottom Top Folded Manufacturer:
American Optical Co. New York, NY factory This
is a camera similar to the
Tourist
Pocket Camera, in that it has
horizontal metal rods. It is stated in Scovill
catalogs that "it embodies many of the advantages of Scovill's Old
Tourist Camera, with much that is new and improved". The
Tourist Pocket Camera was advertised in Scovill catalogs through a
~January 1888 catalog (How
to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List, Scovill Mfg.
Co. (New York, NY), undated
but about January 1888, p. 32), and the
first appearance of The Flandreau seen in the September 1888
catalog (How
to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY), distributed by C.H. Codman & Co.
(Boston, MA), September 1888,
p. 21). That
production stopped on the Tourist Pocket Camera exactly when
production started on The Flandreau indicates that Scovill really
did consider The Flandreau to be the improved model of the
Tourist Pocket. In all probability, the factory workers
responsible for constructing the Tourist Pocket Camera just
switched over to construction of The Flandreau at some point in
1888. Catalogs never contain an
engraving of the model, and the camera above is only stamped with the
classic "American Optical Co., Scovill Mfg. Co. Prop.".
That it is indeed a Flandreau is deduced from the
written description of the rods ("The rods which are used to move
forward the front of the camera..."), tapering bellows ("The bellows is
cone shaped..."), the front focus ("...focuses by forward movement", the
configuration of the ground glass frame ("The ground glass is hinged, as
in English cameras, to throw over the top of the instrument..." and the
manner of folding ("When closed for carrying, the bed becomes a closing
front board...". The rods do not
serve to extend the draw, but rather appear to merely be a way to push
the front standard out from the back and lock it in
place. When folded, the rods become a troublesome appendage
next to the ground glass. The function of the large threaded piece
at the end of the rod assembly is not apparent. Were the rods to
be pushed entirely in (the bellows fully extended), a locking mechanism
would keep them in place. This is not recommended, however,
since the front standard (which is quite thin at one point) has
previously been broken by such an attempt, and, besides, the current
lens is in focus as shown. By late 1896, the
Flandreau was consigned to the "Bargain Page" of the American Annual of
Photography and Photographic Times Almanac for 1897 (page lxi), which
probably indicates an attempt to get rid of discontinued stock. Flandreau may have been
the surname of a worker/inventor at Scovill Mfg. Co. There are
advertisements for
Flandreau's S.P.C. Hypo Eliminator, which prevents fading of
photographic prints due to fixer having remained in them after washing.
References:
The ground glass frame/back on this example is a 2021 replacement.
Date Introduced: - ; Years Manufactured:
c.1888-1896
Construction: front focus
via push-pull of the nickeled rods from behind;
single swing; reversing; three-piece lens
board
Materials: mahogany body; metal base rods;
red leather bellows; brass
and nickeled brass hardware
Sizes Offered: 4x5; 5x7.
Notes:
How to Make
Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY), May 1888, p. 21
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY), distributed by C.H.
Codman & Co. (Boston, MA), September
1888, p. 21
How to Make
Photographs and Descriptive Price List, Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York,
NY), November 1888, p. 21
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY), distributed by Buchanan, Bromley
& Co. (Philadelphia, PA) Catalog, 1888
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
The Scovill & Adams Co.
(New York, NY), January 1889, p. 20
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
The Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY), distributed by Buchanan,
Bromley & Co. (Philadelphia, PA) Catalog, 1889
How to Make
Photographs and Descriptive Price List, The Scovill & Adams Co.
(New York, NY, 1890, p.22
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. 22
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
The Scovill & Adams
Co. (New York, NY), January
1891, p. 22
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
The Scovill & Adams
Co. (New York, NY), distributed by Sargent & Co. (Cleveland, OH), April
1891, p. 10
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. 12
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
The Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY),
January 1892, p. 11
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
The Scovill & Adams
Co. (New York, NY), abt. June 1892, p. 11
American Annual of Photography and Photographic Times Almanac for
1893, The Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY),
1892, ads p. 145
The American Annual of Photography and
Photographic Times Almanac for 1894, The
Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY), 1893, p. 96
How to Make Photographs and a Descriptive
Catalogue of Photographic Materials Illustrated,
The Scovill & Adams Co.
(New York, NY), 1896, p.
30
American Annual of Photography and Photographic Times Almanac for
1897, The Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY),
1896, ads p. 61 ("Bargain
Page")
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