Simple enough for even children to use, the Brownie was designed, priced, and marketed in order to bolster the sale of roll film, which Eastman had recently invented, and as a result, make photography accessible to the masses. In February of 1900, Eastman's company, Eastman Kodak, introduced a low-priced, point-and-shoot, hand-held camera, called the Brownie. There's a problem loading this menu right now. B.A., History, University of California at Davis. In February of 1900, Eastman's company, Eastman Kodak, introduced a low-priced, point-and-shoot, hand-held camera, called the Brownie. Rocky Mountain Film Laboratory Aurora, Colorado "We are the world's premiere developer of antique, esoteric, outdated and old film. Not that he invented the smartphone or the myriad social media sites to which you can instantly post your images. Kodak claimed in its advertisements that the Brownie camera was "so simple they can easily [be] operated by any school boy or girl." Ilford HP5 Plus Black and White Negative Film ISO 400 (120 Roll Film) 2-Pack The name was changed to No.1 Brownie after the introduction of the larger No.2 Brownie. The Brownie Camera Page offers history, galleries, tutorials, and helps you find out what camera you just found in the attic. The No.1 Brownie is a leatherette covered card box with a wooden film carrier. To take a "snapshot," all one had to do was pop in a cartridge of film, close the door, hold the camera at waist height, aim it by looking through the viewfinder at the top, and turn a switch. Below are the most common model numbers and their picture size. Though simple enough for even children to use, a 44-page instruction booklet accompanied every Brownie camera. The Brownie camera was very affordable, selling for only $1 each. Created and maintained by Chuck Baker. In just the first year after introducing the Brownie, the Eastman Kodak Company sold over a quarter of a million of its little cameras. Prime members enjoy FREE Delivery and exclusive access to music, movies, TV shows, original audio series, and Kindle books. If you have it, we can develop it." Plus, for only 15 cents, a Brownie camera owner could buy a six-exposure film cartridge that could be loaded in daylight. Cover for the Brownie … After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. The author holding his 1960s-era Kodak Brownie Hawkeye film camera. C-22 and just about every other process from any film size! Why Are There No Combat Photographs From the Civil War? For an extra 10 cents a photo plus 40 cents for developing and postage, users could send their film to Kodak for development, eliminating the need to invest in a darkroom and special equipment and materials—much less learn how to use them. Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2020, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.
However, the small cardboard box did more than just help make Eastman a rich man. All photos ©Michael Chiusano Today’s digital cameras have become so adept at almost any shooting situation that, paradoxically, they can inhibit creativity by always delivering a technically perfect result. Designed by Eastman Kodak's camera designer Frank A. Brownell, the Brownie camera was little more than a simple black rectangular cardboard box covered in imitation leather with nickeled fittings. It forever changed the culture. It's all about Eastman Kodak Brownie Camera.
Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in, Ilford HP5 Plus Black and White Negative Film ISO 400 (120 Roll Film) 2-Pack, ART-DECO FILM CAMERA VINTAGE 1950S 620 FILM CAMERA, Vintage Kodak Brownie Target Six-20 Art Deco Box Camera, Polaroid Lab - Digital to Analog Polaroid Photo Printer (9019), Kodak Portra 400 Professional ISO 400, 120 propack, Color Negative Film (5 Rolls per Pack), Fujifilm Instax Mini Instant Film Twin Pack (White), APEMAN Dash Cam 1080P FHD DVR Car Driving Recorder 3 Inch LCD Screen 170° Wide Angle, G-Sensor, WDR, Parking Monitor, Loop Recording, Motion Detection, Fujifilm Instax Mini 9 Camera with Fuji Instant Film (40 Sheets) & Accessories Bundle Includes Case, Filters, Album, Lens, and More, Fujifilm Instax Mini 11 Camera with Fuji Instant Film (60 Sheets) & Accessories Bundle Includes Case, Filters, Album, Lens, and More, 127 Film Holder Compatible with V550/V600 Film scanners, Kodak Tri-X 400TX Professional Black & White Film ISO 400, 35mm, 24 Exposures (3 Pack), Fujifilm INSTAX Mini Instant Film 2 Pack = 20 Sheets (White) for Fujifilm Mini 8 & Mini 9 Cameras, Model:4332059078. Variations: From October 1901-April 1904 this model Brownie had a smooth leathercloth covering. The next time you point your smartphone at a sunset, snap a group of friends on a night out or position yourself just so for a selfie, you might want to give silent thanks to George Eastman. Jennifer Rosenberg is a historian and writer who specializes in 20th-century history. Have a Question, Comment, or Information. These cameras also gave everyday people an affordable, accessible way to document the important moments of their lives, whether formal or spontaneous and preserve them for future generations. Learn How the Brownie Camera Changed Photography Forever. The List and Descriptions of Brownie Cameras, The List of Brownie Movie Cameras and Projectors, Manuals - Instruction Booklets - Pamphlets, Beginners Guide To Understanding And Using A Brownie Box Camera, How-To Covert A 116/616 Box Camera To Shoot 120 Film, How-To & Why: Respooling 120 Film Onto A 620 Spool, How-To Clean a Lens: "Here's Soap in Your HawkEye", How-To Open Different Kodak Brownie Box Camera Models, Links to Friends of The Brownie Camera Page. Soon, handheld cameras of all sorts would hit the market, making possible vocations like photojournalist and fashion photographer, and giving artists yet another medium with which to express themselves. Its ads, which ran in popular magazines rather than just trade journals, also included what would soon become a series of popular Brownie characters, elf-like creatures created by Palmer Cox. Kodak heavily marketed the Brownie camera to children.
Children under the age of 15 were also urged to join the free Brownie Camera Club, which sent all members a brochure on the art of photography and advertised a series of photo contests in which kids could earn prizes for their snapshots. 228 Kodak Brownie 8 movie camera f/2.7 229 Kodak Brownie 8 movie camera f/2.7 230 Brownie Fun Saver Movie f/2.7 231 Brownie Movie Kit 232 Brownie Movie Outfit 233 Brownie Movie Camera Kit f/1.9 model II 234 Kodak Movie Gift Kit Gold What he did do was set in motion the democratization of a pastime that prior to the turn of the 20th century was solely reserved for professionals well-trained in the use of heavy large-format cameras. ThoughtCo uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience and for our, The History of Photography: Pinholes and Polaroids to Digital Images, Learn About Edwin Land, Inventor of the Polaroid Camera, A Look at the 6 Technologies That Revolutionized Communications, The History of Video Recorders - Video Tape and Camera, Biography of Louis Daguerre, Inventor of Daguerreotype Photography, Biography of Annie Leibovitz, American Photographer. Since 120 film is still in use as a "professional" film it is widely available, but in order for it to be used easily in a 620 roll film Brownie it must first be re-rolled onto a 620 spool. Richard Photo Lab Hollywood, CA A devoted high-quality film and print lab, Color and B&W tray work. Eastman Kodak and all other film manufacturers had discontinued 616 and 620 film by the 1980s. The No.1 Brownie Camera is identical to the "improved version" of the Brownie camera. Kodak Bantam This table is a list of numbers used consistently for roll film cameras from 1895 on but there were differences between the Kodak and Brownie model designations.