E. & H.T. Anthony & Co.

N.P.A. Type Camera with Brass Guides

 

 

 

5 x 8"
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Label, metal just below the lens board on the front standard: "E. * H.T. Anthony & Co. - Manufacturers. - 591.Broadway.N.Y."
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Date Introduced: - ; Years Manufactured: c.1885
Construction: rear focus via push-pull; none or single swing; reversing by two tripod mounts;
Materials: mahogany body; cherry base; black fabric bellows; brass hardware; French polish finish
Sizes Offered: at least 5x8
Notes:  

This is essentially the N.P.A. Variation 1, but with the addition of a unique feature present in none of Anthony's usually amateur cameras: robust brass guides along the base.  Such brass guides were usually a sign of a professional grade or early (<1885) camera, since they are more costly to produce than merely having wood on wood contact.  But no Anthony catalogs going back to May, 1885 have any mention of brass guides (and they would have been mentioned as an expensive feature).  The presence of Anthony's patent clamp hooks (No. 307,965; Nov 11, 1884) make the camera no earlier than Nov. 1884.  The best guess is that this is an early version of the N.P.A. from 1884-1885.

The metal Anthony label is the only marking on the camera.  The list of patent dates customarily stamped at the back of the platform frame is not present, despite the camera having been made using patent features, e.g., Anthony's patent hooks to fix the platform open and make it rigid.

The reference below does not name the model except that it is Anthony and has a mahogany box.  The above camera qualifies on both counts.

References:
The Photographic Times and American Photographer, Vol. XIV, No. 158, New Series No. 38, Scovill Mfg. Co., February 1884, ads p. 48 (in an ad for Wilson, Hood & Co.

 

 

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