References & Advertisements

One of the goals of this website is to include a bit of historical information, advertisement or reference with each camera. The idea is to build a more complete picture of each item by studying the wide spectrum of model variants and accessories that are not listed in recent collecting books. However information about 19th century cameras and their use is limited and often hard to find. We have found that the best information sources come from the original manufacturer's catalogues and advertisements -- making the collector or historian somewhat of a photo-archeologist. And like an archeologist, surprises and the unexpected abound.

Over the years, we have learned that many makers -- such as The American Optical Company as one example -- offered "made to order" variations. One example is the Henry Clay Camera made with aluminum mountings (instead of heavier brass). This variation was advertised for $38 in 1896, and until August 2001, no example was known to exist in any collection. Finding such an example or any special order camera is a rare privilege, but without references describing these obscure variations, they would likely remain unknown to the collecting community.

Advertising copy can convey a manufacturer's desired position in the market or special virtues of a particular camera. The Bullard Folding Magazine Camera was advertised having a tag line "Its Better Than Yours" while additional text noted "The magazine works with the speed and accuracy of a repeating rifle." Trying it out, I discovered that my Bullard jammed quite frequently leading me to wonder about the quality of those 19th century repeating rifles.

Manufacturer's advertisements and references can also help date an important camera or new model release, which can have a bearing on its historic significance. One of the more interesting and elusive folding plate cameras, The Henry Clay Camera, was originally thought to have been introduced in 1892 because the earliest reference was an 1892 Scovill & Adams Photographic Annual. Yet knowing that annuals must have engravings and ad copy ready for publication and distribution, the camera would need to have been available the previous year to make the deadline. Working under this assumption, later research uncovered a photographic jobber's catalogue complete with an illustration of the camera dated June 15, 1891. Confirming 1891 as the introduction date positions The Henry Clay Camera as a historically interesting item. We now consider it as one of the first self-casing, folding-bellows cameras that helped make dry plate photography appealing to the masses -- an important transition in the acceptance of gelatin based emulsions that continues today.

As the industry moves forward into a new era of digital images, the roots of photography can still be traced in its early cameras, advertising, and references. The advertisements and references appearing on this website are scans from the originals. They are fascinating looks into a past where graphical layout, grammar, and the "sales pitch," are much different than what we see today.