Schmid's Patent Detective camera (3¼x4¼; improved model)

OBJECT TYPE: Camera
MANUFACTURER: E. & H.T. Anthony & Co.
INVENTOR: Schmid, William
NATIONALITY: American
PLACE MANUFACTURED: US, NY, New York
SEE ALSO: Schmid's Patent Detective camera (4x5; improved model)
PATENT DATE: Jan. 2, 1883
FILM TYPE: dry plate
IMAGE SIZE: 3¼ x 4¼ in.
ORIGINAL LIST PRICE: $55.00 - $77.00
SIGNIFICANT FEATURE: hand held instantaneous
FUNCTIONAL TYPE: detective

NOTES:
  "The first hand-held instantaneous camera produced in America.
  Although two years earlier the Englishman Thomas Bolas, produced and
  patented two hand-made prototype cameras which were hand-held with
  viewfinders, these were never commercially produced. Therefore the
  Schmid was the world's first "commercially produced" hand-held camera.
  Patented January 2, 1883 by Wm. Schmid of Brooklyn, NY. The earliest
  model for 3¼x4¼" plates featured a rigid one-piece carrying handle
  formed from a brass rod. The later model featured a folding handle.
  Later models had the focusing scale on the right side, and leather
  covering was optional. The 1891 catalog offers 6 sizes from 3¼x4¼" to
  8x10", sizes above 4x5"on special order only." (McKeown, 1996).

OBJECT IDENTIFIER: A6281.00012

BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCE: McKeown, Jim & McKeown, Joan. --Price Guide to Antique and Classic Cameras: 1997/1998.-- Grantsburg, WI: Centennial Photo, 1996. pp 70.//