E. ANTHONY WET PLATE LENS
Scovill Manufacturing Company, New York 1861-1862
Radial drive, quarter-plate
lens marked "E. Anthony, 501 Broadway, The Scovill Manfg. Co., 4 Beekman
St., New York". Although marketed
by E. Anthony and marked Scovill Manufacturing, the lens appears to have been
manufactured by C.C. Harrison of New York.
E. Anthony was located at
501 Broadway, New York, beginning in May, 1860, moving to 591 Broadway in February,
1869.
Scovill Manufacturing's address is shown
in Trow's New York City Directory for
the Year Ending May 1, 1861 at 36 Park Row, and in Trow's New York City Directory for the Year Ending May 1, 1862
at 4 Beekman Street and 36 Park Row. Scovill occupied the 4 Beekman Street
address until moving to 419 Broome Street by 1874. This places the lens solidly
in the wet plate era.
The lens measures 5" in
height, with a 2-1/4" barrel diameter.
Although mounted as shown on a 4x4 lens board, having a cut flange would
have allowed it to be mounted closer to another lens. This suggests that it was part of a stereo
pair at one time. Although the focus
knob and mount are missing, the outline shows the mount was circular:
Radial drives with circular
drive mounts began to appear on American lenses from the late 1850's to the
early 1860's, which corresponds to the late daguerreian/early wet-plate period:
C.C. Harrison Quarter-plate
With its lens shade the same
diameter as the barrel, the E. Anthony's style is like the C.C. Harrison and some
Holmes, Booth & Haydens radial drive lenses of
the same period. The quarter-plate C.C
Harrison lens shown below is identical in construction, down to the cut mounting
flange, and its serial number places it about 1858/1859:
C.C. Harrison Quarter-plate E.
Anthony Quarter-plate
The half-plate Holmes, Booth
& Haydens lens below, is also nearly identical in construction, and dates
to 1858/1859:
Holmes,
Booth & Haydens Half-plate
Some collectors believe that
several of the early lens barrels found under various names, were made by
either Gardner, Harrison & Company or Levi Chapman in the early 1850's.
In the case of this E.
Anthony lens, per Images and
Enterprise by Reese V. Jenkins, "During the middle 1850's, Scovill
possessed the sole agency for Harrison cameras and lenses, the best made in
America at the time, thus assuring itself of a steady and reputable supply of
optical and camera goods." Jenkins also states that in 1855, the Edward
Anthony company combined its camera factory with that of Charles C. Harrison's
optical shop, with Scovill forfeiting its sole agency with Harrison. This was an initial step to Anthony and
Scovill combining, which was under consideration at the time. However, the union fell apart and the
ownership of C.C. Harrison's factory was transferred by the Anthony and Scovill
companies to Nelson Wright of New York in early 1862. Anthony and Scovill would
eventually merge in 1902.
Considering Anthony's and
Scovill's addresses on the lens, the similarities in barrel construction to
C.C. Harrison's lenses, Edward Anthony's association with Charles C. Harrison
and the timing of the disposition of Harrison's factory, this all points to the
lens probably being manufactured by C.C. Harrison about 1861-1862.
It's also interesting to
note, that this E. Anthony lens' serial number of 7726 parallels the known date
ranges for both C.C. Harrison and Holmes, Booth & Haydens lenses made about
1861.
Holmes,
Booth & Haydens E. Anthony C.C. Harrison
With a very brief timeline,
this would be a rare lens to encounter. Unless
completely unmarked, most daguerreian and wet-plate lenses are found labeled
with the maker's name or the supplier's name, but rarely both. This is the only example I've seen, but I
suspect a few others probably exist.
I would be interested to
hear from anyone with more information on this lens.