THE CHASE
FOLDING MAGAZINE CAMERA
Kozy
Camera Company, Boston,
Massachusetts 1899 - 1901
The Chase Folding Magazine Camera was manufactured by the Kozy Camera
Company, best known for their Kozy line of pocket cameras with hinged,
accordion-style bellows. Like the Kozy,
the Chase Folding Magazine was a unique design, patented by Jacob J. Chase of
Newburyport, Massachusetts on January 16, 1900, Patent No. 641,268. Some versions of the Chase have been found
with patent pending markings and others with the January 16, 1900 patent date.
This 4x5 example is a mid-to-late
production model, bearing what appears to be Serial No. 827 and having the Jan.
16, 1900 patent date stamped on the inside of the top loading door. The
advertisement shown below for The Chase appeared in a 1900 issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine. With so few
examples seen today, the three-digit serial numbering scheme would seem to
mislead. Based on advertisements and known examples, Bausch & Lomb's
venerable Unicum Shutter was original equipment.
Making use of aluminum and metal
fittings in its construction, the camera cycled a series of twelve glass plates
by racking the rear compartment up and down.
A counter, visible through a viewing port at the rear, tracked the
number of exposures. The glass plates
were individually stored in tin sheaths, japanned black on their forward sides.
The drop magazine compartment has a flexible section of leather on the front
side, which folded and unfolded as the compartment moved in and out. Presumably, its purpose was to aid in maintaining
a light-tight seal during the cycling process.
For a camera with such a sophisticated loading system, the Chase was
devoid of any swing, tilt or double-extension features, and relied upon a
graduated scale for focusing. Priced at
$16, the camera was also available in 5x7 for $24.
As to the firm itself, relatively little is known of
the Kozy Camera Company. The company was
originally located at 44 Bedford Street in Boston from 1897-1899, this address
reflected in ads from Munsey's
Magazine (1897) and The
Housekeeper Magazine (1899), and later at 24 Warren Street in an ad
from The Black Cat Magazine (1899).
Addresses of 40 Bedford Street and 126 Bedford Street have also been seen.
Hiram A. Benedict designed the Kozy Camera, having
been granted Patent No.'s 478,837 (July 12, 1892) and 493,747 (March 21, 1893)
covering a Kozy-like magazine camera whereby a series of glass plates were
individually loaded into the camera. According
to the Annual Report on the Statistics of Manufactures, by the Massachusetts,
Dept. of Labor and Industries, Division of Statistics for 1898, for
Newburyport, Massachusetts, Jacob J. Chase & Son began the manufacture of
cameras in February of that year.
I haven't determined
whether Chase or Benedict was the owner of the Kozy Camera Company or what
their relationship to each other or to the company might have been. In The
Photographic Times, Volume XXXII for 1900, noting a meeting of the
Photographic Manufacturers' Association of America, a U.K. Pettingill of
"advertising reknown" was in attendance representing the Kozy Camera
Company. Many other prominent
manufacturers were also represented, the result of the meeting being aimed at
protecting the real photographic interests of the trade. The Biographical Directory of the State of
New York for 1900 lists an F. Huber Hoge as the manager of the sales department
for the Kozy Camera Company.
Despite having a well-engineered
design, it was not the easiest camera to use and would ultimately prove unpopular. As a result, its production life was brief, with
maybe a handful of Chase Folding
Magazine Cameras surviving today.
Below is another example of the Chase
Folding Magazine Camera, Serial No. 744. My Sincere Thanks and Appreciation to Gerjo Quicken, for
sharing these photos of this 4x5 Chase
Folding Magazine Camera from his collection.
Image courtesy of Gerjo Quicken
Image courtesy of Gerjo Quicken
Image courtesy of Gerjo Quicken
Image courtesy of Gerjo Quicken
Source: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Source:
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Ad from Cosmopolitan Magazine, 1900
Kozy Camera Company 1900 catalogue
cover
From
the Kozy Camera Company 1900 catalogue
From the Kozy Camera Company 1900 catalogue