WATERBURY DETECTIVE CAMERA - ORIGINAL MODEL WITH ROLL-HOLDER

Scovill Manufacturing Company, New York 1888 - 1889

Appearing in Scovill's How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List as early as September, 1888, the Waterbury Detective Camera's original design was granted to Willard H. Fuller of Passaic, New Jersey under Patent No. 391,236 dated October 16, 1888. This date can be found stamped into the leather on the camera's top side and on the front panel:

The patent was assigned to the Scovill Manufacturing Company of New York. Fuller held at least ten other photographic patents, all of which were assigned to Scovill Manufacturing Company or Scovill & Adams.

Source: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Another patent covered the design for marking the film in a roll holder. Patent No. 439,651, also granted to Willard H. Fuller on November 4, 1890, was assigned to the Scovill Manufacturing Company, as well:

Source: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Available in 4x5 and 5x7 sizes with a single viewfinder, the camera was available in two versions. The first utilized a plate holder only and was priced at $25. The plate holder could be stored in the recessed area beneath the camera. A second version, configured to use an integral roll-holder with an automatic exposure tally or register, was priced at $35. The roll-holder model eliminated the need for a plate holder, the storage area now being dominated by the roll-holder's controls and exposure counter that were built-in to the camera's base. The removable roll-holder, with its controls configured in this manner, was specifically designed to be used with this model of the Waterbury Detective. Other cameras in Scovill's line-up, such as the Triad, utilized access holes in the base to allow the user to reach the winding keys mounted on a stand-alone roll-holder. Unlike other stand-alone roll-holders that were portable and completely enclosed the film, the sliding rear panel of the Waterbury Detective is tensioned and acts as the roll-holder's rear door. This required that the roll-holder, like most others, be loaded in darkness. The difference here is that the Waterbury's loaded roll-holder also had to be placed within the camera and the rear panel closed within total darkness, and removed in the same manner for development. The model was also equipped with a rod, attached to a sliding metal tab located inside at the rear of the lens. Pulling the rod out, the user could selectively block light from entering through the lens, should the shutter be released accidentally. The knob connected to this rod can be seen located on the camera's right side in the example shown here.

Initially, focusing was accomplished by a sliding lever and focusing scale located in the recessed storage area. The lever was attached to the forward section of the lens, which slid in and out to adjust for distance. Subsequently, as seen on the example shown here, the focusing lever remained at bottom with the focusing scale being moved to the outside at the bottom right. Sometime in late 1889/early 1890, the focusing lever and scale were moved to the camera's top. By this time, although the base of the camera was still slightly recessed, it could no longer accommodate the storage of a plate holder. By April 1891, the roll-holder version was discontinued, and the top lever and scale were replaced with a knob graduated for distance. This knob version is now found on most surviving Waterbury Detective examples. The camera was now being referred to in advertisements as the "Improved Waterbury Detective Camera".

The Waterbury Detective Camera used a lever-actuated string-set rotary shutter mounted to the inside of the sliding front panel, with a release button located above this lever. Waterbury's were said to be equipped with Wale lenses. This camera's dimensions are 8-1/2" deep, 7-3/8" wide and 7-1/4" tall (add 3/16" for the brass feet pegs).

The example seen here, with a Scovill Mfg. Company label inside, does not contain the patented film marking feature, suggesting it to date prior to the November 4, 1890 patent covering that design. The Scovill Mfg. label also indicates manufacture before Scovill Mfg. sold off its photographic business in 1889, which became Scovill & Adams. The lens utilizes a spring-tensioned disk stop, versus the sliding metal aperture incorporated into the lens barrel on later versions. This all suggest that this particular camera was manufactured in either 1888 or 1889. The camera is equipped with its original spring-tensioned lens cap, with a brass nametag on the bottom engraved "Sam C. Partridge Photo Supplies, San Francisco". Other than what's believed to be an assembly number "2" and serial numbers on the lens barrel and roll holder, the camera itself has no serial number. With a significantly higher price over the standard plate holder version, production must have been relatively low.

By 1897, Scovill's only remaining detective cameras were the Waterbury Detective (also referred to as the Waterbury Regular), the Waterbury Triad (as the Triad was now called) and the New Waterbury (formerly the Waterbury Hand Camera). They all disappeared from the marketplace that year.

With a significantly higher price over the standard plate holder version, production of roll holder-equipped cameras must have been relatively low. This translates as to why so few of them are seen today. The camera featured here is the only example of the original model of the Waterbury Detective with the roll-holder and register feature that I've ever encountered. One other example of the Improved Waterbury Detective Camera, equipped as such, has also been seen. Considering all Waterbury Detective models, these integral roll holder versions are among the rarest.