Rochester Optical Co., Rochester, NY
Empire State View Camera Variation 1
Below, Rochester Optical Co. Catalog, May 1893, p. 8-9
8 x 10
Another 8 x 10 - Stereo
Setup Date Introduced: - ;
Years Manufactured: c.1893
- c.1897
References:
Back to Rochester Optical Group of Manufacturers
Construction: front focus
via two gear tracks on top of base rails; double swing from a
center pivot; rising front via thumbscrews on both sides of the front
standard; reversing by removable back; base rigidity via a
thumbscrew; spring back
Materials: mahogany body; cherry base;
black fabric bellows; brass hardware
Sizes Offered: 5x7; 5x8; 6 ½x8 ½; 8x10;
10x12; 11x14; 14x17; 17x20; 18x22; 20x24
Notes: The Empire State is a
moderately priced version of the well-made and well-finished
Ideal.
The illustrated camera above is
8x10, set up for stereo.
Variation 2
has more decorative but less robust swing hardware than this variation
and a lever to make the bed rigid instead of a thumbscrew. While
the lever is faster to set up, it often is the site of bed damage,
whereas the thumbscrew-type base is rarely damaged.
Variation 3
is a precursor to the
Improved
Empire State. The photographs above show an 8x10 size
outfitted for stereo with bellows-type septum and Thornton-Picard
roller-blind shutter. Its corner reinforcements are after-market
or repair-related.
Catalogue of Photographic Apparatus, Rochester Optical Co.
(Rochester, NY), May 1893, p. 8-9
Catalogue of Photographic Apparatus, Rochester Optical Co.
(Rochester, NY), May 1894, p. 8-9
The American Annual of Photography and
Photographic Times Almanac for 1894, The
Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY), 1893, p. 20
Catalogue of Photographic Apparatus, Rochester Optical Co.
(Rochester, NY), May 1895, p. 12-13
Catalogue "G" 1896 Photographic Apparatus and Materials,
Montgomery Ward & Co. (Chicago, IL), 1896, p. 21
Catalogue "G" 1896-1897 Photographic Apparatus and Materials,
Montgomery Ward & Co. (Chicago, IL), p. 18
Catalogue "G" 1897 Photographic Apparatus and Materials,
Montgomery Ward & Co. (Chicago, IL), 1897, p. 19-20
