Scovill Mfg. Co.
Ne Plus Ultra (A-DDD)
Date Introduced: – ; Years Manufactured: c.1881-1890
Construction: back focus via push-pull; no swing; non-reversing; no lensboard
Materials: white wood body; cherry base; black fabric bellows; brass hardware, varnish finish
Sizes Offered: #A=4×5 (shown in photos above); #B=5×8; #C=5×8 stereo; #D=6.5×8.5, #E=8×10
Notes: This camera is described only as having rubber bellows and rigid platform, and apparently came in both ebonized (painted black) and natural (stained) versions, and also with and without removable front (a lensboard). Outfits A-E = 1 camera, 1 holder, 1 tripod, Ni Waterbury lens, wooden case; Equipments AA-DD = same and dark-cloth, 1 dozen plates and ruby lantern; Equipments AAA-DDD = same as AA-DD and a chemical outfit and sensitized paper. This camera has the rather unusual construction of both the front and rear finger-jointed boxes being placed on their own solid wood base of the same width, giving the appearance that the finger-joints don’t go all the way through. 4×5 Ebony illustrated above; 5×8 and 4×5 natural illustrated below.
References:
C.H. Codman (Boston, MA) Catalog 1883, p. 11-12
Wilson, Hood & Co. (Philadelphia, PA) Catalog, 1883
Scovill Mfg. Co. Catalog, 1886 (A-DD)
Obrig Camera Co. (New York, NY), 1886 (A-EEE)
Scovill Mfg. Co. Catalog, July 1887 (A-EEE)
How to Make Photographs and Descriptive Price List, C.H. Codman & Co. (Boston, MA), September 1888, pp. 12-13 (A-EEE)
Buchanan, Bromley & Co. (Philadelphia, PA) Catalog, 1888 (A-EEE)
Buchanan, Bromley & Co. (Philadelphia, PA) Catalog, 1889 (A-EEE)
