THE $5.00 DETECTIVE CAMERA

Miller & Company, 442 & 444 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, New York 1890

Box-style 4x5 detective camera marketed by Miller & Company of Brooklyn, New York.

Miller & Company, formerly Miller & Hopkins, was a photographic supply house. At least two advertisements have been seen for the company in E. & H.T. Anthony & Company's The International Annual of Anthony's Photographic Bulletin, Volume III, 1890, and in Scovill's The American Annual of Photography and Photographic Times Almanac for 1890 seen below:

From Scovill's The American Annual of Photography and Photographic Times Almanac for 1890

The $5.00 Detective Camera appears in a 16-page catalogue from Miller & Company titled Photographic Specialties and copyrighted 1890:

From Miller & Company's Photographic Specialties, copyright 1890

From Miller & Company's Photographic Specialties, copyright 1890

The catalogue confirms that Miller & Company private-branded at least some of their apparatus and supplies, as reflected in their "M&H Compactum Shutter" which was actually Hopkins' Pneumo Shutter:

From Miller & Company's Photographic Specialties, copyright 1890

Ad from Scovill's The American Annual of Photography and Photographic Times Almanac for 1891

However, assuming the engraving to be accurate, like the M&H Popular Detective Camera also from Miller & Company, The $5.00 Detective Camera resembles nothing seen from any other maker so far. Despite this and with Miller & Company having been a distributor for the most part, it's highly unlikely they would have built this camera. The catalogue's description notes that a patent was applied for, although no patents have been located for the camera's design. An internet search revealed no examples, photographs or advertisements for the camera, which is not listed in McKeown's Price Guide to Antique and Classic Cameras 12th Edition 2005-2006, or seen in any other camera collecting reference book that I'm aware of.

Pending more information, the camera's 1890 production date is based solely on the Miller catalogue's copyright. And in reality, production may have preceded or succeeded this date. But with no trade journal references or advertisements found to help narrow its timeline, this all seems to suggest that The $5.00 Detective Camera along with its sibling the M&H Popular Detective Camera was very short-lived.

Like many obscure cameras that were briefly produced by smaller companies during the early 1890's, The $5.00 Detective Camera and the M&H Popular Detective Camera will be very difficult, if not impossible to find.

For more information on Miller & Company's "M&H Popular Detective Camera" and the "M&H Nonapreil Camera", look for them under the "Antique Cameras" section of this website.