BOSTON HAWK-EYE DETECTIVE AND COMBINATION CAMERA
LEATHER COVERED VERSION
Boston Camera Company, 36 India Street,
Boston, Massachusetts 1888 -
1889?
Images
courtesy of Antony D. Manthos
Boston
Camera Company's Hawk-Eye
Detective and Combination Camera is best known to collectors in its regular
guise, having a natural wood finish. At least one ebonised
version of the camera exists, along with several leather-covered examples, one
of which is shown here.
Aside from its leather covering, the most significant
differences from the natural wood finished Boston Hawk-Eyes are the sliding
covers over the viewfinder and lens openings, and the lack of an internal flap
(self-capping shutter) feature which is seen on most surviving natural wood
finished versions. The internal flap's presence is indicated by its control
lever and disk surround, located next to the shutter tensioning adjustment and
the viewfinder window:
The 1889 advertisement below for the Boston Hawk-Eye
Detective and Combination Camera, doesn't indicate a leather-covered option. It
appears to depict the natural wood finished version, as the loading door's
3-panel design can be seen in the engraving. Also, the self-capping feature
isn't reflected, suggesting that it may have been introduced later in production:
1889 advertisement
With a roughly two year production run, Boston's Hawk-Eye Detective and Combination Camera in any version is seldom seen
today. Compared against the standard natural wood finished versions, ebonised or leather-covered examples are nothing short of very
rare.
My
Sincere Thanks to
Antony Manthos
for sharing this little seen version of the Boston Hawk-Eye from his
collection. Exchanges like this with
other collectors helps to tell a more complete story, adds a new dimension or
an update to what we've previously known, and allows us to see a physical
example of a known (or sometimes totally unknown) camera or other photographic
apparatus.
For more information on the Boston Hawk-Eye Detective
and Combination Camera or the Boston
Hawk-Eye Detective and Combination Camera - Ebonised
Version, look for them under the "Antique
Cameras" section of this website.