RAPID
RECTILINEAR 4X5 LENS
Tisdell Manufacturing Company, Scranton,
Pennsylvania
1894
This Tisdell 4x5 Rapid
Rectilinear lens is believed to have come from a Tisdell & Whittelsey
Detective or Hand Camera, as they were also referenced as. These detective
cameras were available in 3-1/4 x 4-1/4 and 4x5 format, and some have been
found equipped with lenses by Dallmeyer and Ross.
Abner Tisdell patented his detective camera on August 31,
1886, Patent No. 348,301. It's believed
that production of the camera began by 1888.
Trow's New York City Directory for May 1, 1888, indicates Abner G.
Tisdell dealt in photographic materials with an address at 130 Fulton Street.
It's interesting to note, that per McKeown's, Price Guide to Antique & Classic Cameras, 2005-2006,
the company's name changed from Tisdell & Whittelsey (New York) to the
Tisdell Camera & Mfg. Company, Scranton, Pennsylvania after 1893. This lens states "Tisdell
Mfg. Co., Scranton, Pa." It's undetermined
whether the omission of "Camera" in the lens' engraving was for
brevity's sake, or whether the company's name changed. The lens' approximate dimensions are 2"
high, with a 1-5/8" shade diameter and a 1-7/16" barrel diameter. Tisdell also marketed magic lanterns, stereopticons and
other related supplies, but isn't known as a lens maker or supplier of other camera
objectives. If this is indeed a lens for
Tisdell's Detective or Hand Camera, the mount is most likely still with the
camera.
Anything with the Tisdell name is rare today,
and not many of their detective cameras have survived.
Undated ad, pre-1893 Source: Unknown
June
3, 1893 ad from the Scranton Republican Newspaper