The
Photographic Amateur, J. Traill Taylor,
Scovill Mfg. Co., publisher, 2nd ed., ads p.20 (1885, 1st ed. was 1883)
Overall
Interior
Top Bottom The top
cover of the case is inscribed in pencil: "Harris Fahnestock, 457
Madison Ave., New York" and "No. 519 Beck Lens". Harris C.
Fahnestock (1835-1914) was an advisor to Abraham Lincoln and the
co-founder of the First National Bank of New York, predecessor of
Citibank (Wikipedia).
The Scovill
Detective Camera was one of the first detective cameras made in the
U.S.A. It has been claimed to have first been manufactured in
1883, but that is probably due to a mis-statement of the published date
of 1883 for the reference below. The first edition was published
in 1883, but the camera only appears in the 2nd edition, which was
published in 1885. References:
Notes:Notes:
Scovill's Photo. Series No. 1 - Photographic Amateur, J. Traill
Taylor, Scovill Mfg. Co., publisher, 2nd ed., ads p.20 (1885, 1st ed.
was 1883)
Scovill's Photo. Series No. 17 - First Lessons in Amateur
Photography, Randall Spaulding,
Scovill Mfg. Co. pub. (New York, NY), copyright 1886, p.a20
Photographic Materials 1886, James
W. Queen & Co. (Philadelphia, PA), 1886, pp. 66-67 (as the
Peerless Detective Camera)
Scovill Manf'g Co. Catalogue Photographic Goods, June, 1887,
David Tucker & Co. (Buffalo, NY), June, 1887, p.179
An
Illustrated Catalogue of Photographic Cameras, Lenses and Other
Apparatus and Materials for Photography, W.H. Walmsley & Co.
(Philadelphia, PA), April 1, 1888, p. 17
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY), May 1888, p. 33
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List, Scovill Mfg.
Co., distributed by John Wanamaker (Philadelphia, PA), June 1888, p. 33
How to Make
Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY), November 1888, pp. 33-34
Photographic Materials 1889, James
W. Queen & Co. (Philadelphia, PA), 1889, pp. 66-67 (as the
Peerless Detective Camera)
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
The Scovill & Adams
Co. (New York, NY), 1890, p. 35