American Optical Co.,
Scovill
Mfg. Co., props.
The Economy Outfits (Economic Camera)
Manufacturer:
American Optical Co. New York, NY
factory The
Economy Outfits are approximately first described in the Scovill &
Adams June 1890 catalog (6½x8½ and
8x10 only) as "made of well seasoned mahogany,
polished, and fitted with the Howe Patent Reversible Back ... single
swing, rack and pinon focusing, vertical shifting front, extra lens
board, brass hardware, one holder, an Economic wide angle lens and a
canvas case. The Economic,
Elm City and Leader cameras are advertised on
the American Annual of Photography and Photographic
Times Almanac for 1897 "Bargain Page"
only, which says "First quality American Optical's Cameras" (but
some are made by Scovill rather than American
Optical). This
"Bargain Page" seems to be the last reference for a number of models,
which implies 1) that Scovill & Adams discontinued a number of models
around 1896, and 2) that the "Bargain Page" was an outlet for the
left-over stock of these discontinued models. The Howe
Patent Reversible Back (U.S. Patent No. 243136, 21 June 1881, J. Milton
Howe) also appears in advertisements for the
Albion
Variation 1 and the
Irving,
and is what we refer to as the "removable back" (that is, the back is
square in aspect, and clipped onto the camera, so that it may be
removed, rotated 90°, then re-attached), a
simple configuration that became the almost universal back for view
cameras to this day. The price of
the 6½x8½" outfit in 1890 for 6½x8½:
$40 (list price for all items in the outfit was $50.25). Since the
outfit prices include lenses, we must estimate the price of the
Economic Camera alone. In the same catalog, the Taylor tripod
was $2.25; an 6½x8½ Economic Lens was
$18. Assuming that the case and extra lens board are included, the
price of the camera alone is therefore about $30. In the same
catalog, the 6½x8½
Waterbury
Outfit (with lens and tripod) was $20; an
Elite
Outfit was $23; the
Economic
Camera $30 (without tripod or lens); a
Centennial
Camera (with tripod but without lens) was $36; the
Star View
Camera was $36; the
Irving Camera
was $40; a single-swing
Flammang
Revolving Back Camera was $40; the
Manifold
Camera was $45; and the
Albion
Camera was $50. In the 1897
Bargain Page, the list price of a 6½x8½
Economic Camera was $30, compared to the
Compact View
($25);
Economic Camera ($30),
Star View
($36); St.
Louis ($40); and
Flammang
Revolving Back ($40). Therefore,
the best estimate of finish and style of the Economic would be something
between the Centennial Camera or Compact View and the
Irving and Flammang cameras. References:
Back to American Optical
Co. / Scovill Mfg. Co. (alphabetical)
Date Introduced: - ; Years Manufactured:
c. 1890 - c. 1896
Construction: back
focus, rack and pinon focus, single swing
Materials:
mahogany, polished finish, brass hardware
Sizes Offered: 5x7; 5x8; 6½x8½; 8x10
Notes:
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
The Scovill & Adams
Co. (New York, NY), distributed by Oscar Foss (San Francisco, CA), June
1890, p. 19
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
The Scovill & Adams
Co. (New York, NY), January
1891, p. 19
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
The Scovill & Adams
Co. (New York, NY), distributed by Sargent & Co. (Cleveland, OH), April
1891, p. 4
American Annual of Photography and Photographic Times Almanac for
1897, The Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY),
1896, ads p. 61 ("Bargain
Page")
American Annual of Photography and Photographic Times
Almanac for 1898,
The Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY), 1897, ads
p. 115 ("Bargain Page")
