Scovill Mfg. Co.

Tourist Pocket Outfit (#206-207)

Date Introduced: March, 1883 ; Years Manufactured: 1883-c.1891
Construction: rear focus via push-pull along metal base rods; no swing; reversing by two tripod mounts; no lensboard
Materials: mahogany body; metal rod base; purple leather bellows; nickeled hardware
Sizes Offered: #206=4x5; #207=5x8
Notes: This is one of the two American Optical cameras to use metal rods as a base rather than a wooden frame (the Flandreau is the other).  Unfortunately, the design of this model calls for the rods to be unscrewed for storage, the the originals for the above camera have been lost, and the camera has been fitted with brass rods to show how the camera would function.  The rear clasp engages a labor-intensive inletted hardware catch on the ground glass frame (or holder), whereas the more usual Scovill clasp merely engages a nail or brad, which probably indicates that this particular camera dates nearer to 1883 than to 1891. Outfit= camera, canvas case, plate-holder and tripod, as illustrated in the lower engraving.
References:
C.H. Codman Cat., 1883, p. 14
Scovill's Dry Plate Making for Amateurs, 1886, p. 12
Queen & Co. Cat., 1886, p. 62
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List, C.H. Codman & Co. (Boston, MA), April 1887, p. 33
Photographic Material, Catalogue O & P, James W. Queen & Co. (Philadelphia, PA), 1891, p. 50

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