THE T. & W. PATENT DETECTIVE CAMERA
Tisdell & Whittlesey, New York 1886 - 1893
Tisdell
& Whittlesey's detective camera was introduced by June 12,
1886, appearing in an Anthony's
Photographic Bulletin as their "New
Patent Detective Camera". The following 1887 ad appeared in Photography in the Studio and in the
Field, by E.M. Estabrooke, as part of Anthony's Photo Series, No. 20:
1887
ad for the T. & W. Patent Detective Cameras
A company profile appearing in Illustrated New York: The Metropolis of To-Day 1888,
mentions the "T. & W. patent
detective camera" as being "the most complete instrument ever
constructed", noting their address as Room 18, Commercial Building, New
York. By 1889, an ad in American
Amateur Photographer, July to January 1889, referred to it as their "T. & W. Detective or Hand Camera". Advertisements, such as the one shown below
from 1886, incorrectly spelled the name as "Whittelsey". This mistake
apparently carried forward for a number of years, as seen in subsequent
advertisements.
From Anthony's Photographic Bulletin, November 27, 1886
The
camera was designed by Abner G. Tisdell
of Brooklyn, New York, under Patent No. 348,301 dated August 31, 1886.
One-half of the patent was assigned to Elbert
A. Whittlesey, also of Brooklyn. The extent of Whittlesey's involvement in
the design of the camera or in the company's financing is unknown. Tisdell was
also granted at least three other patents for photographic shutters and one for an Edison-style reproducer
for a disc player. In Tisdell & Whittlesey's advertisements, the camera's shutter
is referred to as the "T. & W.
Patent Shutter":
Source: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Source: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Sometime after
March, 1891, Tisdell & Whittelsey,
New York was dissolved. Abner Tisdell
formed Tisdell Camera & Mfg. Company in Scranton,
Pennsylvania to manufacture the new Tisdell Camera.
Abner G. Tisdell is listed in Williams'
Scranton Directory for the Year 1893, as a camera maker at 406 Spruce,
with a home address on Myrtle, It also lists the Tisdell Camera and
Manufacturing Co., Walter Henwood, president and H.E. Stillwell, secretary at
406 Spruce. Scribner's Magazine,
Volume XIII Jan-Jun 1893 has an ad for Tisdell Camera and Manufacturing
Co., Scranton, PA. The Detailed Report
of the State Treasurer, May, 1894, lists Tisdell Camera and
Manufacturing Co, on account of bonus on charter, $25. After mid-1894, all
references for the Tisdell Camera seem to disappear.
Although production of the camera probably seized by that point, the company
was still in existence. Patent No. 536,242 was granted to Abner G. Tisdell on
March 26, 1895 for the two-bladed shutter used on the Tisdell Camera.
Available in 3-1/4 x 4-1/4 and 4x5 formats,
examples of the T. & W. Patent
Detective Camera have been found equipped with lenses by Dallmeyer, Ross
and other lens makers. The 3-1/4 x 4-1/4 T&W Patent Detective Camera shown
here is equipped with a Perken, Son & Rayment Optimus lens. readily
accessible by pulling upward to remove the viewfinder. The camera's natural
wood finish is complimented by the rotating wood panels covering the rear
viewing port and the front lens openings. Its original leather carry strap was
designed to conceal the viewfinder at top. This camera is equipped with an
external shutter release that's mounted flush with the lid. Earlier examples
were operated by opening the top lid just enough to cock the shutter, and upon
closing the lid, the shutter would trip. A hole can be seen on the latch side
of the camera, where a squeeze bulb could have been attached to release the
shutter pneumatically.
The camera is also equipped with two knobs
internally: one to focus and one to secure the focus setting. Other examples have been seen without a focus
lock. I've seen at least one example with a focus knob mounted externally on
the side of the camera. This configuration mirrors the camera's patent drawing,
leading one to assume that a camera so equipped was of earlier production. Yet, if this is true, why would they move
from this configuration to the inside of the camera, when it was so much easier
and convenient to focus from the outside of the camera? Having said that, one
still had to open the lid to cock the shutter, change out f-stops and to remove
and replace the plate holder's dark slide.
When acquired, this camera contained six,
single-sided Barnett Patent Dry Plate Holders. These unique holders were
covered by Patent No. 271,402 granted to John Barnett of New York, New York on
January 30, 1883, for their hinged and light-weight design. Later, on January
7, 1890, Barnett was issued Patent No. 419,105 for his Universal Film Holder
having a rigid back with overlapping edges to hold flexible films. Ads for Barnett's Dry Plate Holders appear as
early as December 26, 1884, in Scovill's The
Photographic Times and American Photographer, Volume XIV, through about
1890. Another of Barnett's holders, the
Patent Universal Film Carrier is seen advertised in Anthony's Illustrated Catalogue for August, 1896, but
disappear from Anthony's catalogues by 1898.
I've seen one other T. & W. Patent Detective equipped with these
holders, and if the camera shown here wasn't sold with them originally, they
are certainly period-correct in this instance. It's an added touch for this
camera, as over time, other holders could have been used and Barnett's earlier
dry plate holders are rarely seen today.
This example is equipped with a truncated
pyramid in lieu of the pleated black or red bellows seen on most examples. The truncated pyramid is believed to be an
earlier design than the pleated bellows. An example found on flickr is seen with a box-in-a-box
arrangement in lieu of a bellows or a truncated pyramid. Having an external
shutter button may suggest that it's a later example, but this is undetermined.
The box-in-a-box example may represent one of the earliest versions, in that it
appears to be able to store one or maybe two holders at best. Most 4x5 versions
seen today have the ability to store at least four or five holders.
Due to the lack of reference material and
advertisements, it's unknown as to whether the 3-1/4 x 4-1/4 format was offered
alongside the 4x5 throughout production, or discontinued at some point. Today,
most surviving examples are seen in 4x5. This 3-1/4 x 4-1/4 camera's
measurements are 10-3/4" long by 5-3/4" high
and
5-15/16" wide, versus another known 4x5 at 12 1/2" long by 7" high and 6 5/8" wide. The top
door's latch has a patent date of October, 1871, for which patent information
is yet to be found.
Despite the relatively few examples that
survive, many variations exist. The camera
has been seen:
- with and without panels covering the lens
and viewing ports
- with leather-covered and natural wood
finishes
- with different lenses
- with various style holders
- with red bellows, black bellows, truncated pyramid and
box-in-a-box
- with and without an external shutter release
- with an internal focus knob only, with internal focus
and focus-lock knobs, with an external focus knob located on the camera' side
- with name tags and without
- with name tags having "New York" only, with nametags
having "130 Fulton Street, New York"
Owned at one time by noted camera collector and historian
Mike Kessler, this T. & W. Patent
Detective Camera is just one example of the iconic "detective"
style of cameras that were beginning to emerge in the late 1880's.....it's
rarely encountered today.
For more information on the Tisdell Camera, look for it under the "Antique Cameras" section of
this website, or click on the link below:
