Pocket Monroe
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| Pocket Monroe No. 2 image by Historic Camera (Image rights) |
The Pocket Monroe cameras are strut-folding cameras by the Monroe Camera Company of Rochester, New York. The camera was designed by Silas French. Together with Albert Beir, co-founder and vice-president of Monroe, he received a patent on this camera construction in 1897.
The camera was made in three models (three sizes):
- Pocket Monroe No. 1 or Vest Pocket Monroe, for 2×2½-inch plates.
- Pocket Monroe No. 2, for 3½×3½-inch plates.
- Pocket Monroe A, for quarter plate (3¼×4¼ inch).
The camera consists of the front, carrying the achromat lens, shutter, aperture and viewfinder; the back, containing the plate holder; the characteristic filigreed expanding strut construction, and the bellows. The struts fold completely into the flanges of back and front so that the camera is quite a compact item when folded.
The back holds a brass double plateholder which is only a quarter of an inch thick, an improvement compared to contemporary wooden plate holders. The front is made of two wooden plates, with the shutter located in between. Three apertures are selectable. In the top of the camera front is a 'Watson' type reflex viewfinder with lens, mirror and matte screen. When opened the camera (the No. 2) measures 5 3/8" long x 4 1/4" wide x 4 3/8" high and weighs 9.6 ounces (271 g). Its length shrinks to 1 3/8" when it is folded. The patent date is imprinted on the plateholder and the wood of the front frame.
The Monroe company took part in a merger to form the Rochester Camera and Supply Company, which produced a camera very similar to the Pocket Monroe A, as the Pocket Poco A.
Links
- Patent for Silas French and Albert Beir, May 18th, 1897 at Google patent search.
- Vest Pocket Monroe at The George Eastman Museum.
- Vest Pocket Monroe (photograph, advertisement and some details) at antique and 19th Century Cameras.
- Pocket Monroe no. 2 at Historic Camera.
