HOPKINS'
NEW PNEUMATIC PHOTO SHUTTER
Marketed by C.E. Hopkins, Brooklyn, New York 1891 - 1897
Hopkins'
New Pneumatic Photo Shutter or "Pneumo" Shutter as featured
in advertisements, was marketed through C.E. Hopkins of Brooklyn, New York. Advertised
in Scovill's The American Annual of
Photography and Photographic Times Almanac for 1891 as "Hopkins New
Pneumatic Photo Shutter", this is the name we've deferred to in the title.
However, we'll use the names "Pneumo" Shutter or Hopkins Shutter for
brevity's sake, and as we'll see, the shutter would be marketed under yet
another name.
Clarence
Edward Hopkins (1864-1935) established his
photographic supply house in Brooklyn by 1891. According to the Brooklyn Daily
Eagle for Thursday, December 10, 1891, "The C.E. Hopkins company of
Brooklyn was incorporated yesterday at Albany to carry on the business of
manufacturing and dealing in articles appertaining to photographing and photographic
supplies. The capital stock is $20,000 consisting of shares of $25 each, and
the directors are Clarence E. Hopkins, Edward R. Hopkins, Josephine B. Hopkins
and John Buys." Per The American Journal of Photography,
Volume XII, No. 38 for June, 1891, Hopkins exhibited (possibly formally
introducing) the "Pneumo" Shutter at a meeting of the Photographic
Society of Philadelphia held on May 13, 1891. The journal's report stated that
Hopkins "exhibited a new shutter, called the "Pneumo". The
shutter, which was of the rotary type, could be placed either outside or inside
the lens, and instantaneous or time exposures could be made at will. He claimed
there was nothing liable to break or get out of order, and it was sold for a
very low price." Although C.E. Hopkins cited "manufacturer" in
some of his advertisements, and appears to have been directly involved in the
production of photographic papers, conjecture exists as to whether his firm
actually built the Hopkins Shutter.
The shutter was actually designed by
Louis Prosch, Jr., with Patent No. 447,902
having been granted to him on March 10, 1891. Louis Prosch, Jr. is believed to
have worked in the Prosch factory and to have been related to the Prosch Manufacturing Company
family of shutter makers, although his connection to
them is not currently established.
The
Conkling-Prosch Family by Thomas W. Prosch, a family history published in 1909, appears to make no
mention of Louis Prosch, Jr.
Source:
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Hopkins' Shutter, with its
pattern-finished brass casing and nickel-plated fittings, was sold in at least
three sizes: 4x5, 5x8 and 8x10. Being spring-powered, the shutter had to be
manually cocked for each exposure. To cycle the action, the cocking arm is
first unlocked with a small sliding release button near the center (which is
moved to the left and held there), allowing the cocking arm to be moved
counterclockwise in its slot. When it
reaches the end of its travel, the arm is then locked in place with the release
lever. The shutter is fired by using the
pneumatic release cylinder or by simply moving the release lever to permit the
cocking arm to move clockwise.
It's interesting to note, that the
image used in Scovill's The American
Annual of Photography and Photographic Times Almanac for 1891, when
rotated, reflects the "Pneumo" Shutter as positioned in the gallery
photo above:
From Scovill's The American Annual of
Photography and Photographic Times Almanac for 1891