The Henry Clay Regular Camera

The Henry Clay Regular Camera, c.1896

American Optical Co., Scovill & Adams Co., props.

Henry Clay Cameras are rare items most often found in the 5 x 7 inch format. This Henry Clay Regular Camera is a fine example of the rare 4 x 5 inch format. Similar to the earlier The Henry Clay Camera, this 'Regular' is constructed of highly polished mahogany with brass trim, has the distinctive reflex finder mounted above the lens on the front standard, and incorporates all the well known swings, tilts and shifts.

Unlike the 5 x 7 inch model also shown on this website, this "Regular" features a hinged drop bed design that replaced the earlier sliding bed version in 1892. (Refer to "Assessment Of The Sliding Drop-Bed Design" link at the bottom of this page).

A thick, fine-quality brown leather covers this "Regular" -- very unusual for a folding camera. It was a practice of American Optical Company to accept custom orders in addition to their standard camera configurations. The brown leather body covering and extra lens is most likely a special order for a client with specific needs.

The Henry Clay Regular Camera
Prosch Triplex 00 Shutter
Rare 4 x 5 Inch Format, c1896

Part of the richness of collecting comes from obtaining accessories that may have been included with the camera at the time of its purchase. Short of having the actual images the new owner may have taken, accessories provide an insight as to how the camera was likely used.

The owner of this "Regular" may have had an interest in taking a variety of picture styles including landscapes, street scenes, and action. For landscape and architectural work, the camera includes a Beck's "Autograph" Wide Angle Lens (upper left picture). When not in use, the wide angle lens is screwed into a lens ring mounted in the upper left corner of the inner body (refer to first picture on this page). To accommodate the shorter lens, a second focusing scale was attached to the right focusing rail. A flat brass spring located on the bed serves as a stop to correctly position the focusing rails for use with the wide angle lens. Unfortunately a second shutter for the Beck lens was not found with the camera -- yet a very clever means to stow a second lens.

Also included is a second coiled brass spring for the Prosch Triplex Shutter -- seen on the right inner body wall. The extra spring is made of a heavier gage wire to tension the shutter for faster shutter speeds, which would be ideal for action pictures. Even though Prosch made a specialized shutter for sports called the "Athlete," a second shutter spring is more convenient to carry than a second shutter/lens combination.

If this camera could only talk .....

With 4" Beck Wide Angle Lens Mounted -- uses right scale

Profile View Of Henry Clay Regular Camera

Prosch Triplex and Normal Lens Mounted -- uses left scale

Detail of dual focusing scales Left: Two focusing scales for normal and wide angle lenses.

Right: Detail of fleur-de-lis leather embossing on top of the body. Embossing detail.

See also:

The Henry Clay Camera Henry Clay Camera Research

The Henry Clay Stereoscopic Camera Assessment Of The Sliding Drop-Bed Design

Henry Clay Advertising Henry Clay 2d

Henry Clay Timeline

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