Descriptive Catalogue and Price List of the Photographic
Apparatus Manufactured by the American Optical Co., Scovill Mfg. Co.
Proprietors and Managers, Scovill Mfg. Co.
(New York, NY), dated September 1884, ~6"x9", 162pp
This is a .pdf file from Internet Archive, a site that is a database of out-of-copyright printed material, including some photographic catalogs, such as this one. A .pdf downloaded from the site is given below. Below that are shown part of the .pdf converted to .jpgs, for the purpose of linking its contents to camera models.
From this catalog and others, we find that the world of cameras in this age was divided into two parts: studio cameras and view cameras. Studio cameras were usually large (at least 8x10), sturdy, extremely heavy, and sat in an artist's studio, as photographers tended to call their workplaces, and did not move. View cameras were designed to be taken outdoors, usually being lighter, smaller, and having folding beds (although offered without folding beds and in sizes up to 20x24").
Pages 1-39 not converted to .jpg (see .pdf version)
Pages 100-160 not converted to
.jpg (see .pdf version)
