1884-1898 E.&h.t. Anthony Co. Camera

[Anthony Rodriguez]

I dont really know what i have here. was given this to find out if this is a good camera. what should i do with it?

[Archphoto]

Post a couple of pic's here and you will get your answers.

My first advice: put some film in it and make some shots with it, but if it is a plate-size camera that film part can be a tad hard if you are a newbe to LF.

Welcome here by the way !

Peter

[Anthony Rodriguez]

here are some pics thank again

[Anthony Rodriguez]

here are more pic

[Lynn Jones]

The Anthony Co. was one of the large, well respected makers of cameras, lenses, and other photographic equipment and chemicals. The other very large similar company was Scovile Mfg. Co. Eventually, the merged and became Anthony & Scoville. Later that name was shortened to Ansco. It survived as a wholly owned subsidiary of General Aniline and Film. Ansco finally bit the dust in the late 1960's due to effects and affects of government intervention. Ansco was majority owned by Agfa durig WWII time and it was taken over by the feds under the "Alien Properties Control Act". WWII was over in 1946 but the government loved to fool around with it by giving executive jobs by political party hacks. When it was virtually destroyed, they put the stock on the market but by not allowing more than 1$% ownership, the losers couldn't be fired. This was in about 1965, shortly after that it was gone.


Lynn

[ic-racer]

I dont really know what i have here. was given this to find out if this is a good camera. what should i do with it?

I'd fix it up and use it.

[Jim Galli]

The Anthony Co. was one of the large, well respected makers of cameras, lenses, and other photographic equipment and chemicals. The other very large similar company was Scovile Mfg. Co. Eventually, the merged and became Anthony & Scoville. Later that name was shortened to Ansco. It survived as a wholly owned subsidiary of General Aniline and Film. Ansco finally bit the dust in the late 1960's due to effects and affects of government intervention. Ansco was majority owned by Agfa durig WWII time and it was taken over by the feds under the "Alien Properties Control Act". WWII was over in 1946 but the government loved to fool around with it by giving executive jobs by political party hacks. When it was virtually destroyed, they put the stock on the market but by not allowing more than 1$% ownership, the losers couldn't be fired. This was in about 1965, shortly after that it was gone.


Lynn

Lynn, I think you may have just described General Motors in one paragraph.

Anthony, most of the value if the owner wants to sell it may be in the lens. What information is written on the lens? It looks like it may have been an enlarging outfit from 100 years ago.

[IanG]

During the early part of WWII Ansco was indeed owned by Agfa's US company GAF. It was only taken over when the US finally entered the war.

Unlike after the First World War the US Government didn't hand Agfa's assets back to the parent German company after WWII. The government had already given away all the Agfa Ansco company's commercial secrets particularly the Agfa colour film manufacturing technology to Eastman Kodak by the end of 1942.

In a similar way as the Russians stole Leica & Zeiss (Contax) plant & Technology at the end of the war the US Government stole GAF & Agaf Ansco, and never ran the companies properly.

Ian

[Ernest Purdum]

Things that it might be useful for us to know:

Is there a groundglass in the back? If so, what are the dimensions?

Are there plate or film holders with it? If so, describe them, please.

How far doies it open up?

As Jim Galli already asked, any markings on the lens coud be significant.

Your first image is all that my tired old eyes can make out, but from that it looks like it is in very nice and probably usable shape.