American Optical Co.
American Optical Co. was a 19th century camera maker, based in New York and New Haven, USA. In 1871 it became a division of Scovill Mfg. Co., the division that made the better versions of Scovill's cameras, made of finer wood, with a better finish. American Optical made view cameras for an astonishing variety of exposure formats, for example the American Optical Improved View Camera. The company still exists as maker of microscopes.
|
| American Optical 4x5 dry plate camera, 1884 image by National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution (Image rights) |
