THE MAGAZINE POCO

Rochester Camera Company, Rochester, New York 1898

Rochester Camera & Supply Company, Rochester, New York 1899

The Magazine Poco was manufactured for about a year and a half between 1898-1899, by the Rochester Camera Company and its successor, the Rochester Camera & Supply Company. The short production run explains in part why almost none are found today.

The Magazine Poco does not appear in the Rochester Camera Company's April, 1898 catalogue. This suggests that production began in mid-to-late 1898 before the company's name changed to Rochester Camera & Supply in 1899. By 1900, it no longer appears in factory catalogues. Measuring 7-1/8" tall by 5-3/4" wide by 8" deep, it came with twelve metal plate holders. The camera's back door interior is stamped "Pat'd Ap'd For, Rochester Camera Co., Poco Camera, Rochester, N.Y." along with the serial number.

Made in 4x5 only, it was priced at $8.00 in 1899 and offered alongside Rochester Camera & Supply's Gem Poco ($5.00), the only two box cameras available from the company that year. Covered in Morocco leather, it was touted as being simple in construction and "practically impossible to get out of order or to make an error in its manipulation".

This example has an ivoroid tag indicating it was sold by Woodard, Clarke & Co., of Portland, Oregon. Woodard, Clarke, established in 1880, sold pharmaceutical, photographic, surgical, dental and optical supplies. They remained in business until about 1925.

Compared with other Rochester Camera/Rochester Camera & Supply products, the Magazine Poco is extremely scarce. With a price substantially higher than the Gem Poco, few were probably sold. This is one of only two examples we're aware of.