Photograph
Buttonhole Camera
| Buttonhole camera owned and used by Stanley C. Hanks, a Madison realtor. The Concealed Vest camera, manufactured by the Stirn brothers, was used between 1886 and 1892. C.P. Stirn's sale of these cameras revolutionized the nature of photography. The vest camera was also known as the 'spy camera,' the detective camera,' the 'shirtwaist camera' and the 'vest pocket camera.' It used a 1.75 inch glass plate film to make six round images. |
| Image ID: | 119773 |
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| Creation Date: | |
| Creator Name: | Unknown |
| City: | Madison |
| County: | Dane |
| State: | Wisconsin |
| Collection Name: | Stanley C. Hanks Madison, Wisconsin, history photograph collection, circa 1850s-1985 |
| Genre: | Photograph |
| Original Format Type: | object |
| Original Format Number: | 1950.2554A |
| Original Dimensions: | 6 inches diameter x 2 inches deep |
| In 1886 C. P. Stirn bought the rights to make a unique kind of vest pocket camera that was invented by Robert D. Gray and first produced by Western Electric Co. in New York. Rudolf Stirn lived in the German capital Berlin where he manufactured vest cameras for his brother C. P. Stirn. From 1886 to 1888 15,000 examples of their Concealed Vest Camera were sold. The camera had to be loaded with a round film plate, 14 cm or 17cm in diameter. The round brass body with the exposure dial (with or without clock hand) and the funnel type lens barrel gave it an unique appearance. Two main types were made, one for making four 6cm wide round exposures on a round film plate with a diameter of 17cm, the other with smaller lens funnel, for making six 4cm wide round exposures on a round plate with a diameter of 14cm. This camera type fits not only in a vest pocket, it can be hidden in it so that the narrow lens opening looks through the vest pocket's buttonhole. Thus the camera got its popular type name "buttonhole camera," but also detective camera, spy camera, and last not least vest pocket camera. The cameras were marketed in the U.S. and Canada by Stirn & Lyon in New York. For more information see Camerapedia Wiki, Stirn Concealed Vest Camera. It was so popular a song was written and published for the vest camera. Published in 1892, with words by James Newland and music by George Le Brunn, Detective Camera was performed by one of the greatest music hall artists, Dan Leno. |
| Portrait photography |
| Portraits, Group |
| Cameras |
| Photography |
| This image is issued by the Wisconsin Historical Society. Use of the image requires written permission from the staff of the Collections Division. It may not be sold or redistributed, copied or distributed as a photograph, electronic file, or any other media. The image should not be significantly altered through conventional or electronic means. Images altered beyond standard cropping and resizing require further negotiation with a staff member. The user is responsible for all issues of copyright. Please Credit: Wisconsin Historical Society. |
| Location: | Wisconsin Historical Society Archives, 4th Floor, Madison, Wisconsin |
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