The First Kodak Brownie Camera

 By Bruce Shawkey

George Eastman's goal was to make picture=taking a pleasurable and affordable experience for the common man. To that end, his company produced the "Brownie" camera in 1919. 

It is said that Kodak named the camera the "Brownie" because the name was inspired by the popular children's book characters "Brownies" created by Palmer Cox, which depicted small, mischievous sprites. The name also partially referenced the camera designer, Frank Brownell, with the "Brown" connection.Kodak named their camera the "Brownie" because the name was inspired by the popular children's book characters "Brownies" created by Palmer Cox, which depicted small, mischievous sprites, making it a fitting name for a camera marketed towards children and designed to be simple and accessible for anyone to use; the name also partially referenced the camera designer, Frank Brownell, with the "Brown" connection.

Here is the owner's manual that came with it, procured from the Internet Archive.












Of particular interest to me is the section on flash photography, where the user would put a piece of flash paper into a frame, insert the frame into the camera, and light it with a match and then quickly snapping the shutter.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Some Costco History

Image
 By Bruce Shawkey Time for another Costco run. This time to the Costco outside Verona. First off, lunch in the food court.  Quarter pound hot dog and a Pepsi for $1.50. Cheapest lunch around. The Costco hot dog was introduced in 1984, one year after Costco's opened in 1983. The original hot dog was made by Hebrew National, and was sold at a hot dog cart outside a Costco location in San Diego. The price was set at $1.50 at its introduction, and has remained at $1.50 ever since.  As of 2018, Costco sold a yearly average of 135 million hot dogs, more than every Major League Baseball stadium combined. Next, shopping for supplies, starting with the rotisserie chicken.    The  chicken is one of the things Costco is famous for.  Costco has been selling rotisserie  chickens   since 1994   when sales of rotisserie chicken started becoming popular at grocery stores. The cooked bird debuted at $4.99, which is the same affordable price tag it sport...
Read more

Raymond "Skip" Henderson

Image
 By Bruce Shawkey I met Raymond "Skip" Henderson about 1986. He was (and is) a watch collector. He lives in New Orleans, and scours the antique shops along Royal Avenue in search of treasures. He also combs the local garage sales and flea markets. One time, he found an old lamp and lampshade. He inquired as to its origin. He was told the shade was made from human skin and was an artifact of the Nazi persecution of the Jews. It was $35, and Skip decided to buy it.  He held on to it for about a year and then decided to get rid of it. Said Skip, "I mean, you take it out of the box, man, people do not want to be in the same room as this thing." Skip sent the shade to a friend in Brooklyn, Mark Jacobson, who writes for New York magazine. Jacobson paid $6,000 to have it tested at a leading genetics laboratory. The results confirmed every ones' suspicion. It was made from human skin.   The story ends there. Skip did not wish to have the lampshade returned to him. Skip ...
Read more

Head Cheese

Image
 By Bruce Shawkey Jones Dairy Farm in Fort Atkinson used to sell a product called Head Cheese. (left). Apparently,, there is so little demand for it any more, they no longer sell it. Head cheese (Dutch: hoofdkaas) or brawn, is a cold cut terrine or meat jelly that originated in Europe, possibly Germany or the Netherlands. It is made with flesh from the head of a calf or pig (less commonly a sheep or cow), typically set in aspic, and usually eaten cold, at room temperature, or in a sandwich. Despite its name, the dish is not a cheese and contains no dairy products. The parts of the head used vary, and may include the tongue but do not commonly include the brain, eyes or ears. Trimmings from more commonly eaten cuts of pork and veal are often used, and sometimes the feet and heart, with gelatin added as a binder. Variations of head cheese exist throughout Europe and elsewhere, with differences in preparation and ingredients. A version pickled with vinegar is known as souse. Historica...
Read more