E. & H.T. Anthony
Champion Equipment, Variation 1 (c. 1887-1899)
August 1887, p.10
5x8 Variation
1A - top tilt hardware
8x10 Variation 1B side tilt hardware
4x5 Variation 1C brass plate to make bed rigid
Date Introduced: - ; Years Manufactured:
c.1887-1899
Construction: back focus via
push-pull; single swing; reverse by two tripod mounts; plywood lensboard
Materials: optional cherry or mahogany body; cherry base
track; black fabric bellows; brass hardware, varnish finish
Sizes Offered: 4x5; 4¼x6½; 5x7; 5x8; 6½x8½; 8x10
Notes: This model is constructed
similarly to the NPA camera,
except its wood is varnished instead of French polished (the 1887 reference states that the
body of the camera was cherry instead of mahogany) and
its hardware did not have draw file finish. Such
features make the Champion less expensive than the NPA. Some Champions
are
made of poorly-matched mahogany, as in the 5x8 camera above,
while others are entirely constructed of lesser woods, like the all-cherry 8x10
camera above. Other major variations are : a
spring-back type, here nominally called Champion,
Variation 2., and the open front style, which superceded the solid front style Champion in April, 1900,
here nominally called the Champion,
Variation 3.
As with any camera of this vintage, there are a number of minor variations within the main (varnish finish, hinge-down back) Variation 1, as shown above: A- the ground glass frame hinges down and the swing is via the same hardware at the top of the camera; B-the swing has its own hardware at the right side of the camera (also in the engraving); C- bed is made rigid with a large, brass plate rather than thumbscrew. Another variation is the number of clips used to hold the ground glass frame, which is probably merely a consequence of size: one clip for smaller versions, two for the 8x10 camera above.
References:
Illustrated Catalogue of Photographic Equipments & Materials, E.
& H.T. Anthony & Co.
(New York, NY), August 1887, p. 10
Illustrated Catalogue of Amateur Photographic Equipments & Materials, E.
& H.T. Anthony & Co. (New York, NY), January 1888, p. 10
Illustrated Catalogue of Amateur Photographic Equipments & Materials,
E.
& H.T. Anthony & Co.
(New York, NY), January 1889, pp.
10
Descriptive Catalogue and Price List of Photographic
Apparatus, E. &
H. T. Anthony & Co. (New
York, NY), 1889, p. 40
Illustrated Catalogue of Photographic Equipments and
Materials for Amateurs, E. & H.T. Anthony & Co. (New York), NY, January 1891, p. 3
How to Make Photographs. A Manual for Amateurs,
C. T. Roche and H.T. Anthony, E. & H.T. Anthony & Co. (New York, NY), 1892,
p. 13
Illustrated Catalogue of Photographic Equipments and
Materials for Amateurs, E. & H.T. Anthony & Co. (New York, NY),
September, 1894,
p. 7
Illustrated Catalogue of Photographic Equipments and
Materials for Amateurs, E. & H.T. Anthony & Co. (New York, NY), August, 1895,
p. 7
Illustrated Catalogue of Photographic Equipments and
Materials for Amateurs, E. & H.T. Anthony & Co. (New York, NY),
December, 1895,
p. 7
Illustrated Catalogue of Photographic Equipments and
Materials for Amateurs, E. & H.T. Anthony & Co. (New York, NY), August, 1896,
p. 7
Illustrated Catalogue of Photographic Materials, Thos. H. McCollin & Co. (Philadelphia, PA)
undated, c. 1897, p. 50
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