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In 1855, The Eastman Kodak Company invented a camera that was small and more convenient.  Previous to this time the cameras were heavy, slow, expensive, and a gentleman’s hobby that took skill to master.   The early cameras were so slow that many of the people in these pictures looked tired, and perplexed.  They had to sit for a long time just waiting for their picture to be taken.  There were even special chairs made where they could sit back and rest their head in to hold it up, in case they fell asleep.  The camera came preloaded with the capacity to take one hundred photos.  The camera had to be returned to the factory to be developed.

My friend was talking to me the other day about some old photographs that she had found.  She said they were taken with an old brownie.  The Eastman Kodak Company still searching for a better camera for the general population invented a camera called The Brownie Box camera in 1900.  It was introduced in February of that same year.  It was a plain cardboard box hence the term “brownie box camera” with a simple lens that took 2 1/2 inch pictures. They sold for a dollar and were the first mass marketed camera. Now it was easy for everybody to take a picture.  It was the first point and shoot camera that enabled the person to take snapshots.   Their slogan was “You push the button we do the rest” Although they were a good camera and found great popularity the camera had one major flaw.  After using the camera for a while the back wore out leaving the film susceptible to light damage.  The company fixed this problem by creating a metal latch that held another back to the camera. 

There were many box cameras created by the Eastman Kodak Company.  In the 1930’s they introduced a camera called the beau brownie. The main difference was it was made with a doublet lens making the appearance of the camera two inches shorter than the original box.  The company discontinued the beau in 1933.

The most popular Brownie camera was the Brownie 127 made out of a Bakelite material.   Which was a very early plastic.  It was a small black plastic box camera.  The roll film could be purchased at the store and easily loaded by the owner.  The camera sold for the reasonable price of $4.75, which made it possible to be in the hands of the general populace.  The pictures were still small about 2 ½ inches.  They were the most popular camera of the 1950’s because of their ease of use, affordability and mobility.  The company stopped production of the 127 in 1959.  So if you were a child of the fifties your parents probably took pictures of you with that brownie.  I’m sure there are many a scrapbook full of old pictures from that period in someone’s attic. The early pictures my friend showed me were still in excellent condition with the colour intact.  The Eastman Kodak Company was still making the Brownie in 1967. 

The brownie was actually named after a cartoon series created by Palmer Cox called the Brownies. The Brownies were based on a Scottish tradition of little people who go around at night doing good unless they had been offended and then they would rack havoc.  In some cartoons the little Brownie characters were inventors and they tried to fix things that they found in their path.  One early cartoon was of the Brownies discovering a hot air balloon and fixing it and sailing away.  This idea of doing things for the common man was what Eastman Kodak was trying to do with their camera.  The first advertisement that came out for the camera was of the Palmer Cox’s Brownies standing over the camera, as this would have been something they might have used. 

So the next time you see a small 2-½ inch picture remember it was probably an Eastman Kodak moment. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownie_(camera)

http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi2202.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_camera

http://www.brownie-camera.com/6.shtml

http://www.boxcameras.com/brown1900.html