Anthony Pillbox?

[David Cerbone]

A friend last night showed me an old camera his father owned. The camera looked to be a 5x8 camera. I would guess it was a Rochester, but there were no identifying marks (just the number 479 on the camera and board). In any event, the wood was pretty brittle, so it could probably only good as a display piece.

What really interested me was the lens. It was a brass pillbox design and closely resembled my Darlot pillbox. The only brand mark were the letters "E" and "A" inscribed on top of one another. I'm guessing the letters stand for "E. Anthony," but I could not find anything online to confirm this guess. I did find a few scattered references to Anthony pillbox lenses, but not much information beyond that.

So, is the lens an Anthony? If so, does anyone know much about them? (And if not, any idea what the brand mark stands for?) Also, my friend was curious about the value of the lens. The brass has a pretty heavy patina but the glass looked to be in good shape. Any sense of the worth?

Thanks for any insights and information!

[goamules]

The intertwined EA trademark is Anthony's. They were made by Darlot though, and relabled by several companies, mostly EH Anthony. A small landscape meniscus is not worth a ton, but they're good lenses.

[CCHarrison]

The pillobox landscape lenses are rising in value like almost every other brass lens ( sans RR's ). EA sold these through the 1880's and 90's. F/16 max aperture. Last one on
ebay sold for $ 247 http://www.ebay.com/itm/130626264525

Typical values on ebay with flange for 5x8 size is $ 175-300 depending on condition and if stops/cap included

Dan

[Two23]

The pillobox landscape lenses are rising in value like almost every other brass lens ( sans RR's ).

It seems like they've been falling some since last summer. Remember how Jim Galli had such a hard time selling two great H,B, & Heyden lenses here? I just bought a Grubb Petzval, probably from mid 1850s, on eBay for about $360. That seemed like a steal to me. I also bought a very cute little Darlot Petzval about 3 inches long for about $280 last summer. The ususual Grubb Aplanats that recently sold on eBay seemed to go for far less than I would have guessed. Maybe the European mess is catching up here, or maybe people see the U.S. stock market as a better place for money now?


Kent in SD

[CCHarrison]

Hi Kent,

Complete lenses with their flange still seem to be on the rise to me.... especially American made/marketed lenses. Regardless of price, its fairly easy to find a Dallmeyer Petzval on ebay, but not so easy to find an EA marked pillbox.

Best,
Dan

[Two23]

What would you say is the order of factors that drive price? I'm guessing, in order: Type, Length, Brand, Condition, Age. I suspect prices on American lenses are driven by the Civil War guys.


Kent in SD

[David Cerbone]

Thanks for the information. (I was also pleased to have my hunches confirmed -- the time spent on this site and others has paid off!) I was a bit surprised by the price on the recent auction -- $247 for a pillbox complete with flange seems much lower than I remember seeing in the past year or two. I paid a bit more than that for my Darlot without a flange (but with all the washer stops) and I had done some comparison shopping at the time. So maybe prices are falling a bit? Maybe it's economic factors. Could it also be that demand is falling since there are only so many photographers and collectors on the prowl for such items?

[Two23]

Several months ago, I picked up a pillbox made by Edward Wood in 1855 for around $400. It was very complete with a washer stop and looked fabulous! I was surprised the price was that low. I actually put a max bid of nearly $800.


Kent in SD

[CCHarrison]

<<$247 for a pillbox complete with flange seems much lower than I remember >>>

All depends on your perspective and time horizon.

An Anthony marked pillbox is not an ancient lens - its 1880's-90's. And despite the difficulty of finding one when you want one, they are cheap in comparison to other more favored brass lenses.... I can remember these getting for well under $ 100. Older, European Pillboxes fetch more, but in most cases are not uncommon. They were also not expensive lenses in their day.... Everything is relative. 10-15 years ago, most brass lenses were fetching $ 50-150. Now, its hard to find anything in that price range. And as for the once forgotten Petzval lenses - WOW - they have sky rocketed over the last decade. I remember picking up a whole plate HBH Petzval at an antique store and the tag was $ 100 and I passed on it - that was 20 years ago !! I also recall picking a Harrison Globe lens up for $ 250 and reselling it for $ 700.... again, that was about 18 years ago and I couldnt believe I got $ 700 for it...

The current craze for Petzvals is way over blown given their relative supply, in my opinion. While Dallmeyer's are incredibly well made, they are fetching numbers that are a bit mind boggling having collected wood and brass the last 20+ years.... From a collecting standpoint, most are just not that rare.... again, everything is relative..... Its whats in favor that is driving prices... this is done by collectors sometimes and lens users other times...

Dan

[goamules]

I totally concur with Dan. What is amazing is the maker takes precedence with a lot of buyers, but it's based on fashion. Five years ago, Darlots went for as much money as Dallmeyers. I thought it was pretty silly, since they were and are very common, were imported for decades, and were the cheapest lens in the catalogs. Slowly their prices have stagnated and Dallmeyers have doubled and doubled again. Which I also think is pretty silly, when you consider they made Portrait Petzvals for 60 years, and made tens of thousands of them! There are other Petzval makers that are just as good a quality, and I buy those for much less. Now, I'm not saying there shouldn't be a price premium on a top quality lens, there should be. But rarity doesn't seem to impact price with most buyers. People will pay $2000 for a 3B, but pass on a very exotic lens from an uncommon maker for $450.