August Semmendinger

August Semmendinger (April 9, 1820 – August 6, 1885) was a manufacturer of photographic apparatuses and the inventor of the Excelsior Wet Plate Camera. Semmendinger first made his cameras in New York City. The second factory where he built his cameras was located in Fort Lee, New Jersey.[1]

August Semmendinger
August Semmendinger, c.1865
Born(1820-04-09)April 9, 1820
DiedAugust 6, 1885(1885-08-06) (aged 65)
Fort Lee, New Jersey
NationalityGerman
CitizenshipAmerican
OccupationPhotographic inventor

Early life

August Semmendinger was born on April 9, 1820.[2] Records indicate he emigrated to the United States from Bad Urach, Germany, arriving in the United States on July 6, 1849, aboard a ship named Columbia which had embarked from Bremen. Arriving with Semmendinger was his wife Magdalene, and his one-year-old daughter, Alwine.[3]

After arriving in the United States, August lived in Lower Manhattan at 9 Elizabeth Street as a cabinetmaker.[4] In 1855-6 he moved two blocks over to 40 Forsyth Street where his occupation is listed as a box maker.[5] Shortly thereafter, August moved to 144 Elizabeth Street where he began to manufacture cameras.[6]

Career
An Excelsior Wet Plate Camera made in Fort Lee, New Jersey.

Semmendinger began making cameras in 1859 and claimed to be the first to manufacture "photographic apparatus".[7] Semmendinger made his cameras in New York City at this time at Nos. 410 & 412 West 16th Street.[8]

Semmendinger was also an early camera designer, and was awarded three United States patents related to camera making. The first, Patent No. 27,241, was earned on February 21, 1860, for a "Photographic Apparatus"[9] This invention was used to take successive exposures using the same wet plate.[10] A second patent was secured on August 7, 1860, Patent No. 29,523,[11] for an invention simply described as a "Camera."

By the early 1870s, Semmendinger moved his family and business to New Jersey and purchased land just across the Hudson River in Fort Lee. Here, Semmendinger was awarded his third United States Patent, No. 145,020, for Photographic Plate-Holders. This patent is for what Semmendinger titled his "Celebrated Silver Double Corners."[7] Semmendinger's fourth patent was for "Camera-Stands", issued on March 31, 1874 (Patent No. 149,255).

In the summer of 1874, Semmendinger displayed his "photograph camera box" at the Fifth Cincinnati Industrial Exposition.[12] He soon thereafter won a bronze medal at the 43rd exhibition of the American Institute of the City of New York for his "Elevated Camera Stand with double Swing Back Camera Box".[13] He was later an exhibitor at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia where he displayed his "photograph apparatus".[14] By 1882, his factory on Gerome Avenue (formerly Eickhoff or Ichoff Street) was a leading Fort Lee manufacturing industry employer.[15][16][17]

Semmendinger's "Mammoth plate" wet-collodion camera saw use in remote landscape photography despite its weight and that of the glass plates it used. It was considered a "monster".[18] Semmendinger's idea of utilizing that portion of the camera just under the lens and converting it into a sort of cupboard was thought novel.[19]

Family

Semmendinger married Magdalene Kinney (b.c. 1829) and together had eight children: Theodore, Alvina, Roland, Guido, Clara, Aloise, August, and Pythagoras.[20]

Death

August Semmendinger died in Fort Lee, New Jersey, on August 6, 1885.[21] His sons carried on the photography business after his death.[21][22]

References
  1. Walzl, Richard (1872). The Photographer's Friend: A Practical, Independent Magazine, Devoted to the Photographic Art Volume 2. p. 226. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  2. Württemberg, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1500-1985. Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 2016. p. 236 – via Ancestry.com.closed access
  3. New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957. Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 2010. Retrieved 13 September 2020 – via Ancestry.com.closed access
  4. Rode, Charles; Doggett, John. The New York City Directory, 1854–1855. New York: Doggett Rode. p. 637. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  5. Trow, John Fowler (1857). Trow's New York city directory. New York, J.F. Trow. p. 744. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  6. The New York State Business Directory. Sampson, Davenport Co. 1867. p. 162. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  7. Ourdan, J. P. (1880). The Art of Retouching. New York: Burrows and Colton. p. 155. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  8. The New York State Business Directory, 1870. New York, NY. 1870. p. 169.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. "Operations of the Patent Office". No. Vol. XV, No. 2, 191. Washington, D.C.: W.D. Wallach. Evening Star. February 25, 1860. p. 1. Retrieved 11 April 2017 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  10. The Photographic News: A Weekly Record of the Progress of Photography (Volume XXVII ed.). London: Cassell, Petter and Galpin. 1858. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  11. The Scientific American (Vol. III - No. 8 ed.). New York, NY. August 18, 1860. p. 125. Retrieved 25 September 2019.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  12. Kenny, Daniel J (1874). Cincinnati Industrial Exposition 1874: Kenny's Illustrated Exposition Guide. Cincinnati Gazette Co. p. 95.
  13. List of Premiums Awarded by the Board of Managers of the Forty-Third Exhibition of the American Institute of the City of New York - 1874. New York: D Murphy's Son. 1875. p. 8. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  14. Official Catalogue of the U.S. International Exhibition, 1876. Philadelphia: J.R. Nagle and Co. 1876. p. 661.
  15. Bergen County Panorama. 1941. p. 104.
  16. Clayton, W. Woodford; Nelson, William (1882). History of Bergen and Passaic Counties, New Jersey. Everts Peck. p. 253. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  17. Bertram, Lucille (2004) Images of America: Fort Lee pg. 25
  18. Fowler, Don D. (1989) The Western Photographs of John K. Hillers: Myself in the Water pg. 20
  19. Traill, Taylor, J (1881). "Exhitibs-Fourth Notice". The Photographic Times and American Photographer. p. 343. Retrieved 4 December 2016.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. "1880 United States Census". Ancestry.com. Census Bureau. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  21. Wilson, Edward L. (July 3, 1886). The Philadelphia Photographer (277 ed.). p. 424.
  22. Chandler, Charles F; Elliott, Arthur H (1886). Anthony's Photographic Bulletin. New York: E. & H. T. Anthony & Company. p. 357. Retrieved 16 March 2017.

Patents

Further reading

Advertisements for Semmendinger products can be found in these primary sources (listed in chronological order)

  • The Photographic Times (December 1873)
  • Towler, J. (1879): The Silver Sunbeam: A Practical and Theoretical Text-Book on Sun Drawing and Photographic Printing pg. 678.
  • Ourdan, J.P. (1880): The Art of Retouching (Burrows & Colton) pg 154.
  • Taylor, J. Traill (editor) (1881): The Photographic Times and American Photographer pg. 343.
  • Abney, Captain W. De W. (1883) : Photography With Emulsions pg. 33
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