Scott's Photographica Collection

Photographic Technology Patents

 

This page presents a number of patents, many of which represent important historical milestones in the development of photography.

Like many collectors I've accumulated a large reference library of catalogs, price guides, magazines, books, advertisements, instruction manuals, collector's association journals - you name it.  Happily, on occasion, I find an item that I can't locate in any of these sources.  It doesn't happen often enough, but when it does occur I become obsessed to learn something about the item's history.

I've found patents to be an invaluable research tool.  As one example I was able to identify a  strange looking object that I was sure was photographic, but looked like some kind of medical device.  I showed this object to other collectors.  The consensus opinion was it must be an accessory self-timer.  After searching the US Patent and Trademark Office Web site for an hour I had my answer.  It is an early camera self-timer attachment patented in 1902 by Robert Faries of Decatur, Illinois.  Links to the patent drawings and description of the self-timer are on this page.

The patents on this page were downloaded from the USPTO Website as PDF files.

Patents

 

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Page created September 10, 2003; updated July 5, 2022