ANTHONY'S STEREOSCOPIC SHUTTER

E. & H.T. Anthony & Company, New York 1900 - 1901

Although unmarked and unnamed as such by Anthony, I've called this Anthony's Stereoscopic Shutter pending better information.

Constructed of mahogany, it measures 5" wide x 2-3/4" tall x 1/2" in thickness with 1-5/16" openings at the rear to accept a lens barrel or shade. The shutter is pneumatically operated, with no manual release.

It appears identical to the shutters as depicted in engravings for Champion and O.N.A. Equipments from an addendum dated June 27, 1900 to E. & H.T. Anthony's Illustrated Catalogue of Photographic Equipments and Materials for Amateurs, August, 1899. The shutter was part of an optional stereo lens/lens board/shutter package for use with their Champion and O.N.A. outfits. This stereo package continued to be offered by Anthony through 1901. Following E. & H.T. Anthony's merger with Scovill & Adams in 1902, these outfits were dropped from the new company's product line.

It's interesting to note, that when this stereo shutter was acquired along with a similarly constructed mono shutter, it was accompanied by a tag stating it was "made by C.B. 1888":

Anthony's Stereoscopic Shutter Anthony's O.N.A. Shutter

These initials may have been in reference to Carl Bornmann of New Haven, Connecticut, who patented numerous shutter and camera designs that were assigned to either E. & H.T. Anthony & Company or to their successor companies Anthony & Scovill and Ansco. Its construction and operation are similar to Weller's Wing Shutter (1891-1903) which spanned some of the same years as the O.N.A and N.P.A. cameras and equipments. It's not known when Anthony's Stereo Shutter was introduced; however, it wasn't depicted in Anthony's catalogues until 1900. No patents have been located for its design so far. As has been seen with some other shutters and lenses of the 1890's, this stereoscopic shutter was not sold separately, only being offered as part of an outfit or only offered as installed on a camera from the factory.

I've personally seen only three examples of this shutter over the past twenty years, suggesting that production must have been very low during its approximate year and a half lifespan. Most likely, very few examples of Anthony's Stereoscopic Shutter have survived.

For more information on Anthony's O.N.A. Shutter and Anthony's N.P.A. Camera, look for them under the "Shutters" and "Antique Cameras" sections of this website.

Anthony N.P.A. Camera, Variation 4 equipped with Anthony Single Achromatic lenses and Anthony's Stereoscopic Shutter