Scovill Mfg. Co., Waterbury, CT & New Haven, CT
6½ x 8½ ", Serial No. 495
Another 6½ x 8½ ", Serial No. 459. Lens board is not
original. The four plate holders are stamped "Amer. Optical Co.,
Scovill Mfg. Co., NY"
Bottom
Top
Manufacturer's stamp,
rear of platform
Serial No. stamps, lower front rise board (top) and lower front standard
(bottom). Two more are present, one on the lower ground glass
frame, and one on the lower rear standard, between the swing hinges.
A fifth serial no. would be present, had the camera had its original
lens board.
8 x 10 ", Serial No. 216. Lens board is not original.
Note that the hinges for its rear standard swing are on the front of the
rear standard, whereas they are on the rear of the rear standard in the
two 6½ x 8½ " examples above.
Three sizes:
Variation 2 6 ½ x 8 ½";
Variation 1 5 x 8"; and
Variation 1 4 x 5"
Manufacturer:
Scovill Mfg. Co., New Haven, CT factory
Date Introduced: 1885 ; Years Manufactured:
Variation 2: c. 1885-~1896
(1898?)
Construction: back focus
via push-pull; single swing via side thumbscrew; reversing by two
tripod mounts
Materials: straight-grained sycamore body; cherry base;
black fabric bellows; brass hardware
Sizes Offered:
4x5 (1886); 4¼x5½ (late1886 through 1896) ; 4¼x6½
(late1886 through 1896); 5x7 (late1886 through 1896); 5x8 (original
size, 1885); 6½ x8½ (1886 through 1893); 8x10 (never
advertised, but extant).
Notes:
The Waterbury View Camera, named for the Waterbury, CT location of one of Scovill's factories, is one of the most common Scovill view cameras. There are also Waterbury Detective Cameras and Waterbury lenses.
The Waterbury View Camera in any of its five variations is basically a Scovill or American Optical model view camera that has push-pull rear focus, non-tapering bellows and made from a wood that usually is mahogany. Specific characteristics of the model and of variations are given below . A table of characteristics for each example of a Waterbury variation examined is given below.
Scovill-Type Waterbury
Variations:
The vast majority of Waterbury Cameras have
the following features in common:
1) The wood is naturally light in color, but nevertheless appears to be
a type of mahogany, although it also bears a resemblance to
straight-sawn
sycamore.
2) The wood is finished without filling the wood pores, using one coat
of clear shellac. The shellac appears to have been applied to the
folding platform while assembled - over-brushed shellac has protected
the edges of the patent rod and piston device from oxidation.
Starting with the 1887 catalog, Scovill advertised "mahogany well
polished" instead of just "mahogany". It is unknown exactly why
this distinction was made - marketing? or was there a change to
French polish instead of brushed finish? It is possible that that some of the
cameras that I call American Optical Waterbury Type cameras were
actually made in the Scovill factory
(obviously these would have to be the ones not marked "American
Optical") using the same kind of wood and finishing process used by the American Optical factory?
3) The hardware is brass, generally unworked and unfinished except where
shellac has been over-brushed, as above.
4) No effort was made in lining up screw slots during assembly.
5) They bear a stamp reading "Scovill Mfg. Co., N.Y." or "The Scovill &
Adams Co., N.Y."
6) They all have a stamped serial number, many of which are in the
hundreds range. Usually, stamped numbers on cameras of this era
are single digits, rarely two digits, and, obviously represent assembly
numbers - numbers used to distinguish the parts of a small number of
cameras that are being manufactured in a batch process where parts are
almost, but not quite interchangeable, and therefore have to be kept
track of. In the case of Waterburys, their numbers in the hundreds
probably represent actual consecutive serial numbers, as it is unlikely
that batches of hundreds of cameras, requiring assembly numbers in the
hundreds, were ever made.
Since the
Waterbury
model was always advertised as the "Scovill Waterbury", it is assumed
that these
Waterburys
were manufactured in the Scovill camera factory in New Haven, CT, the
former Samuel Peck camera factory, and are categorized here as
Scovill Waterbury Variation 1,
Scovill Waterbury Variation 1A,
and
Scovill Waterbury Variation 2,
according to minor variations in construction.
Scovill Waterbury View Camera Variation 1A:
The Waterbury
View Camera Variation 1A has
construction and hardware that are identical to
Variation 1 -
it is thought to be merely the earliest version of Variation 1, due to
the three following features:
1) The wood forming the box-jointed sections of the front and rear
standards is quarter-sawn sycamore, as Scovill also used in two other
early models:
Unknown View Camera
and the
New York View Camera.
The face of the front standard appears to be the same as used in
Variation 1 Waterburys, said in Scovill's catalogs 1887 and after to be mahogany
(albeit a very light-colored mahogany).
2)
The wood near Scovill's piston-type device to make the bed rigid is
stamped with the single word: "Patented", suggesting that the patent had
been applied for but yet to be granted.
Waterbury View Camera
Variation 1 and Waterbury View
Camera Variation 2 have the exact patent date stamped into the
metal of the device itself. Variation 1A would therefore appear to
have been manufactured sometime after the patent, but before the metal
stamps were received.
3)
The wooden case in which the camera came is typical Scovill
spline-joint construction, so has probably been with the camera since
its manufacture. The clasp that fastens the top is an bulky early
style that can also be found on a plate-holding box marked "Sam'l Peck &
Co." from the 1850's or 1860's. This fancy-wood version of the
Waterbury may be an example of
a 1885-1886 Waterbury, made
before the change was made to mahogany.
Scovill Waterbury
View Camera Variation 1
The
Waterbury View Camera Variation 1 (as well as
Variation 1A) has a scalloped-edged
metal flanges on either side of the rear standard that allow it to tilt
front-to-back. This distinguishes
it from the Waterbury View Camera Variation 2.
The wood, other than the cherry platform wood, is said by Scovill
catalogs to be mahogany starting in 1887. It is a strange, very light-colored, mahogany
that others have called sycamore (which it resembles) and even oak.
Its pores have been left unfilled, then given what appears to be a single coat of
clear shellac, leaving the pores slightly sunken.
Scovill Waterbury View Camera Variation 2:
This is the most common variant of
The
Waterbury View Camera. It has a somewhat
square-shaped metal flange for tilting the rear standard, which
distinguishes it from the Waterbury Variation 1.
This tilting control flange is only on the right side, and only fastens the tilted rear
standard - the tilting itself is performed by hinges and a small wooden
wedge visible on the left side. This arrangement was undoubtedly
an improvement over
Variation 1,
which tends to become difficult to tighten reliably as the screws that
hold the flanges loosen. Even though there are quite a few extant
Variation 1 cameras, all the engravings in Scovill catalogs appear to be
of Variation 2, even back to
the first catalog to advertise it in 1885. This begs the question of just
when, exactly, were the Variation 1 and
Variation 2 made?
Like the Waterbury View Camera Variation 1,
the Waterbury View Camera Variation 2 is made from a
very light-colored mahogany (except for the cherry platform), finished with a
thin coat of clear shellac.
Scovill & Adams Waterbury View Camera Variation
3:
This is a rare variant of the
The Waterbury View Camera -
surprisingly so since the Scovill Mfg. Co. changed to The Scovill &
Adams Co. in 1889, early enough that The
Waterbury View Camera should have still been being made in
the thousands. Unlike other variations, it is unmarked except for
the lens and does not bear a serial number or even an assembly number,
but it has the normal wood, straight sawn sycamore, used in most
Scovill Waterbury View Cameras,
the same rod and pocket patent device to make the platform rigid
(although not stamped with the patent information seen in the other
Scovill Waterbury View Camera
variations), and the same rear standard tilt hardware as does the
Scovill Waterbury View Camera Variation 1.
In fact, it is identical to the Scovill
Waterbury View Camera Variation 1, with the sole exception
of a single piece of wood: the piece that acts as a combination front
standard base and front molding. In this variation, this piece of
wood is thicker than those observed in other
Waterbury View Camera examples,
although this thickness is hardly standard in those other examples (see
Construction Details of Straight-Bellows Amateur Cameras, Side Views
for comparison of this and other details of construction). The
other difference and the most obvious difference is that whereas the
shape of the front of this piece of wood is convex (bowed outwards) in
the other Waterbury View Camera
variations, the shape of the front of this piece in the
Scovill & Adams Waterbury View Variation 3
is concave (bowed inwards).
American Optical-Type
Waterbury Variations:
There exist
Waterbury-design cameras that do
not have the Scovill characteristics listed above. These cameras
may differ from the above
Waterbury cameras in two ways:
1)
The first, most obvious, reason is that some (but not all)
Waterbury
design cameras are marked with an "American Optical, Scovill Mfg. Co.,
Props." stamp in their wood.
I assume, as in the "Scovill"-stamped cameras above, that the stamp is
indicative of the factory in which it was made, in this case, the
American Optical factory in New York City. It is problematical
that some of the cameras having all appearances of having been made in
the American Optical factory are not marked as such, instead being
marked "Scovill Mfg. Co., N.Y." It is possible that some of the
cameras that look like typical American Optical cameras were made in the
New Haven Scovill factory, assuming that the Scovill factory received
the same wood as used in the American Optical factory, and the workers
also received the same training in French polish and draw-file finishing
as their New York City counterparts. However, it is unlikely that
cameras produced in two different factories would be indistinguishable
other than their stamped identification. It is more likely that
Scovill was not vary concerned whether cameras were identified and
stamped as American Optical or Scovill. Their catalogs certainly
are not very clear as to which cameras are American Optical and which
are Scovill. For some models, catalogs identify the maker
(factory), in the June 1891 Scovill catalog, for example: "The
American Optical Star View Camera"
on p.19 or "The
Scovill Manifold Camera" on
p.23. Other models, known to be American Optical due to their
labels, occur adjacent to other identified American Optical models, as
if in an American Optical section of the catalog, in the same June 1891
catalog, for example,
The (Flammang)
Revolving Back Cameras
on pp.20-21 are American Optical products
placed immediately after the
American Optical Star View Camera.
Unfortunately, catalogs appear to shift back and forth from Scovill to
American Optical products. Most unfortunately, neither the catalog
notation nor the catalog position are clear about where the
Waterbury
was made.
2) The second reason, more subtle but nonetheless convincing, is the
physical properties/appearance of the camera. Scovill advertised
certain models as having been specifically manufactured by American
Optical, such as Flammang Revolving Back Cameras (both
Rear Focus and
Front Focus),
The Irving Camera,
The Reversible Landscape Camera,
The "76" or Centennial Camera (and No.s
202-204), Reversible Back Camera (Front
Focus (St. Louis) and Back Focus (Acme)),
The Tourist Pocket Outfit, and
Walmsey's Photomicrographic
Camera. The examination of these models shows the following
characteristics in common:
- The wood is naturally dark mahogany or dark stained mahogany and dark
stained cherry. At a glance, this wood is distinguished from the
light-colored mahogany of the Scovill Waterburys.
- The wood is finished by the process of French polishing: continuing
layers of shellac to fill pores followed by a final buffing to produce a
mirror smooth surface.
- The hardware is nickel-plated or brass finished in what is called a
draw-file finish, producing fine, parallel lines.
- Usually, the screws are lined-up on a side or surface so that their slots are
parallel; subsequent draw filing makes the screws in the same plane as
the hardware that they secure, and makes them almost
invisible.
Since some Waterbury cameras share their physical characteristics with
cameras advertised to have been manufactured in the American Optical
factory in New York City, NY, these Waterburys are presumed to have also
been manufactured in the American Optical factory, and are referred to
here as the
American Optical Waterbury Variation 1
and the
American Optical Waterbury Variation 2.
American Optical Waterbury-Type View Camera
Variation 1:
The hinges on the ground
glass frame are on the bottom of the frame in
Variation 1 and on the sides in
Variation 2.
Variation
2 seems to be very rare, relative to
Variation 1.
Waterbury-Type View Camera Variation 1
has a ground glass frame over 1" wide, whereas all other
Waterbury variations have
frames about ⅝" wide. This makes
Waterbury-Type View Camera Variation 1 significantly larger
than the other variations. The two examples seen so far have an
identical mixture of stamps: Scovill Mfg. Co., N.Y. on the lens board
and on the ground glass frame, and American Optical Co., Scovill Mfg.
Co., N.Y. on the rear of the platform. A comparison of the sizes is shown
just below the table. A Waterbury
having side hinges is never shown in Scovill catalogs or other ads.
This discrepancy in size
between those cameras thought to have been made in the American Optical
factory and those cameras thought to have been made in the Scovill New
Haven factory is similar to the discrepancy found for the variations of
The 76 Camera
(see The
76 Camera Variation 1 for
comparison photos). The difference in construction may be due to
Scovill not precisely duplicating the tools and jigs used to make the
camera in one factory vs. the other. The company may have
merely left the details of construction to the tool- or camera-makers
from each location. It is not that Scovill cameras are always
larger than American Optical cameras; in
The 76 Camera
example just mentioned, The 76
Camera Variations 1 and 2
(American Optical versions) are smaller than
The 76 Camera Variation 3 (Scovill Version).
American Optical Waterbury-Type View Camera
Variation 2:
The hinges on the ground
glass frame are on the bottom of the frame in
Variation 1 and on the sides in
Variation 2.
Variation 2 seems to be very
rare, relative to Variation 1.
Scovill Waterbury & American Optical Waterbury-type Camera
Characteristics |
||||||||||||
Number |
Format |
Marked |
Type |
Serial No. |
GG Frame width1 |
Wood | Finish |
GG Hinge |
Hardware Finish |
Swing Hardware |
No. of Rod & Piston |
Frame/Solid Rear Deck |
LP1075 |
5x8 |
Scovill Mfg. |
Wat Var 1A |
323 |
0.61 |
Qtr.-Sawn Sycamore |
Shellac |
Bottom |
Plain |
2/scalloped |
1 |
Frame |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
LP0006 |
4x5 |
Scovill Mfg. |
Wat Var 1 |
393 |
0.60 |
Straight Sycamore |
Shellac |
Bottom |
Plain |
2/scalloped |
1 |
Solid |
LP0071 |
5x8 |
Scovill Mfg. |
Wat Var 1 |
688 |
0.62 |
Straight Sycamore |
Shellac |
Bottom |
Plain |
2/scalloped |
1 |
Solid |
LP0940 |
4x5 |
Scovill & Adams |
Wat Var 1 |
769 |
0.58 |
Straight Sycamore |
Shellac |
Bottom |
Plain |
2/scalloped |
1 |
Solid |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
LP0349 |
6½ x8½ |
Scovill & Adams |
Wat Var 2 |
495 |
0.84 |
Straight Sycamore |
Shellac |
Bottom |
Plain |
1/square |
1 |
Frame |
LP1246 |
6½ x8½ |
Scovill Mfg. |
Wat Var 2 |
459 |
0.82 |
Straight Sycamore |
Shellac |
Bottom |
Plain |
2/square |
1 |
Frame |
LP626 |
8x10 |
Scovill Mfg. |
Wat Var 2 |
21 |
0.82 |
Straight Sycamore |
Shellac |
Bottom |
Plain |
2/square |
2 |
Frame |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
LP0521 |
5x8 |
Scovill Mfg. |
Wat-Type Var 1 |
None |
1.06 |
Dark Mahogany |
French polish |
Side |
Draw-File |
1/square |
2 |
Frame |
LP1086 |
5x8 |
Am. Opt. and Scovill / Both 2 |
Wat-Type Var 1 |
None |
1.06 |
Dark Mahogany |
French polish |
Side |
Draw-File |
1/square |
1 |
Frame |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
LP748 |
4x5 |
Scovill Mfg. |
Wat-Type Var 2 |
245 |
0.59 |
Dark Mahogany |
French polish |
Bottom |
Draw-File |
1/square |
1 |
Frame |
LP861 |
4x5 |
Scovill Mfg. |
Wat-Type Var 2 |
228 |
.058 |
Dark Mahogany |
French polish |
Bottom |
Draw-File |
1/square |
1 |
Frame |
LP894 |
4x5 |
Am. Opt., Scovill |
Wat-Type Var 2 |
None |
0.61 |
Dark Mahogany |
French polish |
Bottom |
Draw-File |
1/square |
1 |
Frame |
LP971 |
4x5 |
Am. Opt., Scovill |
Wat-Type Var 2 |
None |
0.62 |
Dark Mahogany |
French polish |
Bottom |
Draw-File |
1/square |
1 |
Frame |
LP0572 |
5x7 |
Am. Opt., Scovill |
Wat-Type Var 2 |
None |
0.58 |
Dark Mahogany |
French polish |
Bottom |
Draw-File |
1/square |
1 |
Frame |
LP1061 |
5x8 |
Am. Opt., Scovill |
Wat-Type Var 2 |
None |
0.58 |
Dark Mahogany |
French polish |
Bottom |
Draw-File |
1/square |
1 |
Frame |
LP1080 |
5x7 |
Scovill Mfg. |
Wat-Type Var 2 |
22 |
0.57 |
Dark Mahogany |
French polish |
Bottom |
Draw-File |
1/square |
1 |
Frame |
1
calculated as a ratio of the left frame width to the horizontal
width of the ground glass 2 on both examples, there are two Scovill Mfg. Co., N.Y. stamps (lens board and ground glass frame) and one American Optical Co., Scovill Mfg. Co., N.Y. stamps. |
Comparison of the
size of Waterbury-Type View Camera
Variation 1 to Other Variations (This Example is
Waterbury View Camera Variation 1)
References (all Scovill Waterbury references
- all appear to be Variation 2):
Scovill's Photo. Series No. 1, The Photographic
Amateur, 2nd Edition, J. Traill Taylor,
Scovill Mfg. Co. pub. (New York, NY),
1883,
2nd Ed. about 1885, p. a10
Scovill's Photo. Series No. 17 - First
Lessons in Amateur Photography, Randall Spaulding, Scovill Mfg. Co.
pub. (New York, NY), copyright 1886, p.a3-a5 and a8 (A-E, AA-DD,
AAA-DDD)
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY), distributed by
Andrew J. Smith (Providence, RI),
1886, p. 34
Scovill's Photo. Series No. 12,
Photographic Chemistry, Scovill Mfg. Co.
(New York, NY), 1886, p. a19
Scovill's Photo. Series No. 20, Dry
Plate Making for Amateurs, Scovill Mfg. Co. (New
York, NY), 1886, p. a10
Catalog P, Photographic Material,
J. W.
Queen & Co. (Philadelphia, PA), 1886, p. 51
Scovill Manf'g Co. Catalogue Photographic Goods, June, 1887, David
Tucker & Co. (Buffalo, NY), June, 1887, p.176
How to Make Pictures, 4th edition, Henry Clay Price, Scovill Mfg.
Co., publishers (New York, NY), dated 1887, copyright 1886, p.a8
Photographic Lenses and How to Select Them, James W. Queen & Co.
(Philadelphia, PA), 1887, p. 27
Scovill's Photographic Series No. 26,
The Photographic Instructor, Prof.
Charles Ehrmann, Scovill Mfg. Co., 1888,
ads p. xiv
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY), distributed by
C.H. Codman & Co. (Boston, MA), April 1887, p.
32
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY),
undated but about January 1888, p. 31
An
Illustrated Catalogue of Photographic Cameras, Lenses and Other
Apparatus and Materials for Photography, W.H. Walmsley & Co.
(Philadelphia, PA), April 1, 1888, pp..6-7
How to Make
Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY), May 1888, p. 20
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
Scovill Mfg. Co. (New York, NY), distributed by C.H.
Codman & Co. (Boston, MA), September
1888, p. 20
How to
Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List, Scovill Mfg. Co. (New
York, NY), November 1888, p. 20
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
The Scovill & Adams Co.
(New York, NY), January 1889, p. 19
Photographic Materials 1889, James
W. Queen & Co. (Philadelphia, PA), 1889, p. 53
American Annual of Photography and Photographic Times Almanac for
1890, The Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY),
ads p. 69
How to Make
Photographs and Descriptive Price List, The Scovill & Adams Co.
(New York, NY, 1890, p.21
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. 20
Photographic Material,
Catalogue O & P, James W. Queen & Co. (Philadelphia,
PA), 1891, p. 39
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
The Scovill & Adams
Co. (New York, NY), January
1891, p. 20
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
The Scovill & Adams
Co. (New York, NY), distributed by Sargent & Co. (Cleveland, OH), April
1891, p. 8
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
The Scovill & Adams
Co. (New York, NY), distributed by Horgan, Robey & Co. (Boston, MA),
June 1891, p. 10
American Annual of Photography and Photographic Times Almanac for
1892, The Scovill &
Adams Co. (New York, NY), 1891, ads p. 106
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
The Scovill & Adams Co.
(New York, NY), January 1892, p.
9
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List,
The Scovill & Adams
Co. (New York, NY), abt. June 1892, p. 9
American Annual of Photography and Photographic Times Almanac for
1893, The Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY),
1892, ads p. 144
The American Annual of Photography and
Photographic Times Almanac for 1894, The
Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY), 1893, p. 96
Catalogue
of Photographic Goods and All Articles Pertaining to Photography,
The Scovill & Adams Co. (New York, NY), undated c.1895, pp. 16-17
How to Make Photographs and a Descriptive
Catalogue of Photographic Materials Illustrated,
The Scovill & Adams Co.
(New York, NY), 1896, p.
28
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