1871-1885 Moving to Fort Lee/Later Life
By the early 1870's, it seems, August Semmendinger was looking to move to New Jersey. He purchased land just across the Hudson River in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
Most of the Semmendinger cameras still in existence that are known to this author seem to have been manufactured in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
A document in family possession dated June 27, 1871 indicates that Semmendinger has "rented...two rooms of his new building in Fort Lee."
From this point forward, Semmendinger lived and made his cameras in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
Historians of antique camera from this period have researched and found that that many early camera makers obtained the wood they used for camera construction from other businesses, notably piano manufacturers. The wood used for pianos was of high quality and properly aged. This wood was ideal for early box cameras.
According to the book Music in New Jersey: 1655-1860: A Study of Musical Activity and Musicians in New Jersey from its First Settlement to the Civil War , by Charles H. Kaufman, there was an Abbott plant (for piano making) in Fort Lee, New Jersey. This firm, known as Abbott & Sons, operated in Fort Lee, NJ. Also, according to the 1876 Bergen County Atlas (which shows the Semmendinger property and "Photographic Apparatus Mfy." ), there was a piano factory (C. Ruff Piano Fact'y) located very close to the Semmendinger plant. It is highly likely that the wood for the Semmendinger cameras, at least during the Fort Lee period, came from either the Abbott or Ruff piano outfits.
August Semmendinger was awarded his third United States Patent, No. 145,020, for Photographic Plate-Holders while living in Fort Lee. For this patent, August Semmendinger stated that he "invented a new and useful Improvement in Photographic Plate Holders." It is believed by this author that this patent is for what August Semmendinger titled his "Celebrated Silver Double Corners."
The December 1873 issue of The Photographic Times (Vol. III, No. 36) states: "Aug. Semmendinger, proprietor of the Fort Lee Camera Box Factory, is constantly receiving new testimonials in favor of his make apparatus. The multiplying and celebrated Roller Camera Boxes are his speciality."
August Semmendinger was able to earn a fourth patent fourteen years later on March 31, 1874. This, the final patent he earned, Patent No. 149,255 by the United States Patent Office was for "Camera-Stands."
There is also a very difficult to read United States Census Report from June 4, 1880.
"Inhabitants in (illegible) in the County of Bergen, State of New Jersey. Listed under the surname Semmendinger are August (aged 60), Magdeline (aged 50) (Wife), Theodore (27)(son), Alvina (18?)(daughter), Roland (20)(son), and Guido (16) (son). The document seems to indicate that all of the children were born in New York. Further, the (barely legible) "Place of birth for the father" was listed as Germany, while the place of birth for the mother was listed as Switzerland.
August Semmendinger died, in Fort Lee, New Jersey on August 6, 1885. An obituary was printed in Anthony's Photographic Bulletin (Volume XVII, 1886).
The obituary reads:
"August Semmindinger (sic), the well-known camera manufacturer, died at Fort Lee, N.J., on August 6, 1885, at the age of 65. He was a native of Wurtemburg, Germany, and always an active man, whether in business or social life. He was the inventor of a number of improvements in the camera, for which he held patents. Mr. Semmindinger's (sic) sons carry on the business founded by their father."
For a time following August Semmendinger's death, his sons carried on his camera making business. It has not yet been determined how long they continued to make cameras.
A turn-of-the-century map of Fort Lee, NJ titled "1908 Sanborne Map" shows the Semmendinger building labeled "Photo Apparatus Factory (closed)." This seems to indicate that by 1908, the Semmendinger family was no longer making cameras.