The Henry Clay Camera was introduced in mid-1891, a period during which the gelatin dry-plate process was rapidly giving way to rollfilm systems in the United States. The original 1891 model sold for $50, or the equivalent of $1,835 in year 2026 currency.

Henry Clay Cameras were manufactured by the American Optical Company for The Scovill & Adams Company of New York and advertised as the only: Double-Shifting and Swing-Front Hand-Camera.

The Henry Clay Camera, Kodak Folding Camera, Blair Folding Hawk-Eye, and Rochester Premier represented a new generation of self-casing, instantaneous folding cameras; however, the Henry Clay camera was the first self-casing, dry plate camera introduced in the 1890s.

The original sliding-bed model was produced for a short period and is very rare. Examining Henry Clay Camera advertisements and references, the sliding-bed model may have been produced from mid-1891 to late 1892. The second body pattern (hinged bed design) was likely introduced in 1893 (as early as mid-1892) and built during the rest of the production through 1899.

It is unclear why Scovill & Adams abandoned the sliding-bed design in favor of a traditional hinged bed and locking strut arrangement (strut-bed). Although a sliding-bed allows the camera's weight to be directly centered over a tripod or stand, it may have been more prone to breakage and not have a "solid feel" those photographers desired.