FOLMER
& SCHWING GRAPHIC CAMERA
The Flammang Camera Company, 180-186 West Houston Street, New
York 1896 - 1897
This Folmer & Schwing Graphic Camera was manufactured by the Flammang Camera Company of New York, established by Mathias Flammang
in 1896. The Flammang Camera Company ad below
mentions "Zenith Folding Cameras", but with no ad engraving and no
factory catalogues to reference, it's unknown whether the camera featured here,
or possibly another Flammang Solograph-Styled
camera found elsewhere on this website, may also have been marketed as the
Zenith by Flammang.
From Scovill's
The American Annual of Photography and Photographic Times Almanac for 1898
Mathias Flammang was the
Superintendant at American Optical Company's Waterbury factory, that company
having been acquired by Scovill Manufacturing Company
in 1867. In 1889, the photographic arm of Scovill
Manufacturing became Scovill & Adams. Scovill & Adams was approached by Folmer
& Schwing in 1895, to develop an improved version
of the Henry Clay for them. With the camera being manufactured by American
Optical for Scovill & Adams, Flammang
was aware of this arrangement and sought to become engaged in the manufacture
of cameras on his own. In 1896, he left American Optical/Scovill
& Adams, forming the Flammang Camera Company. He
would build cameras under his own name, as well as for other companies.
Per Rodger Digilio's article
"Involvement of the Flammang Camera Company in the Manufacture of Cameras
for Folmer & Schwing", published in the Graflex Historic Quarterly, Volume 15, Issue 1, for First Quarter
2010, "Flammang
entered into an agreement to make cameras exclusively for Folmer
& Schwing. They advanced Flammang
money, but the agreement broke down in 1897. According to Folmer:
"...during the summer of 1897 we were unable to secure sufficient
deliveries of existing graphic models to met demand, owing to the fact that Flammang was making hand cameras for the Scovill & Adams Co., G. Gennert,
and a number of local dealers."
As seen below, this Flammang-made
Folmer & Schwing
Graphic Camera is identical in construction to Folmer
& Schwing's Graphic Camera, believed manufactured
later in 1897 or by 1898, when Folmer & Schwing began building their own cameras. This is reflected
in the leather covering's fleur de lis tooling,
movements, hardware, door release buttons and the quality of the fit and finish
seen on both cameras.
Flammang-Folmer
& Schwing Graphic Folmer
& Schwing Graphic
4x5
6-1/2 x 8-1/2
Supporting this, the later Folmer
Graphic contains the Folmer & Schwing
Mfg. name on a circular brass inset, and on the swing lock plate at the base of
the lens standard. Also, the earlier Flammang Graphic
has no serial number whereas the later Folmer Graphic
has serial number 3028 stamped in the rear compartment's base. Per Roger Digilio's article, it's believed serial numbers were not
used until Folmer & Schwing
began making their own cameras.
This Flammang-made Folmer & Schwing Graphic is
equipped with a pneumatic release version of Bausch & Lomb's Time &
Instantaneous Shutter - Model of 1892. According to Dr. Rudolf Kingslake, this
shutter appeared briefly in 1892/1893 before being discontinued. However, its
appearance on the "Lloyd" Camera in Andrew J. Lloyd's 1897 catalogue
as the "Lloyd Shutter", suggests that B&L's Model of 1892 was
produced for maybe four or five years at least. It has been seen on at least
one example of a Sunart Vici
Camera (with a Sunart-badged aperture scale), a
shutter example marked "Sunart Photo Co."
on the speed dial and "VICI" on the aperture scale and a Manhattan
Optical Company Wide-Angle Wizard marked "Manhattan Optical Co." on
the speed dial and "Unicum" on the aperture
scale. However, this shutter is most often encountered on late 1890's
cameras by the Folmer & Schwing
Manufacturing Company. The shutter's speed dial on this Flammang-built
Graphic is marked "Folmer & Schwing, New York" with the aperture scale marked
"Graphic":
This same shutter has also been found on
Manhattan Optical Company's Wide Angle Wizard from 1897-1898, the
shutter's speed dial on this example being marked "Manhattan Optical Co.,
Cresskill, N.J." with the aperture scale marked "Unicum".
Although based on the earlier Bausch & Lomb Time
& Instantaneous Shutter - Model of 1892's design, it was
apparently marketed as a "Unicum" during
the same period the Unicum Shutter - Model of 1897 was also being
introduced:
The Flammang Camera Company
appears to have lasted for about a year. The sole ad seen above only appeared
for 1898 in Scovill's The American Annual of Photography and Photographic Times Almanac
for 1898 which, by the time the ad was released, Flammang's
company had been sold. Although the ad states "Send for Catalogue",
no factory literature has been found; possibly because no catalogue was ever
printed before the Flammang Camera Company's
extremely brief existence came to an end.
Although Flammang's name and
patents are associated with (and found stamped on) many field cameras of the
1880's, few cameras bearing his name as maker or to those he manufactured for
other makers, are rarely seen today.
For more information on Folmer & Schwing's Graphic Camera, a Flammang Solograph-Styled Camera
and Folmer & Schwing's
Improved Henry Clay Camera,
click the links below to open a new window.
Folmer & Schwing's
Graphic Camera (create link)
Flammang Solograph-Styled
Camera (create link)
Folmer & Schwing's Improved
Henry Clay
For the article references cited here, click the links
below.
Roger Digilio's Article
https://www.pacificrimcamera.com/rl/03305/03305.pdf
