No 1 Brownie Camera Model B

PART OF:: The Kodak Museum Collection

Made:: 1904-1916 in Rochester

maker:: Kodak

Box camera for 117 rollfilm 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 inches. Fitted with a meniscus lens of fixed aperture and focus. Rotary shutter T/I. Sighting lines on camera top. Accessory clip on reflecting viewfinder. Eastman Kodak. 1908-1915. In original carton with Brownie motif.

No 1 Brownie Model B, Kodak, Eastman Kodak Company, c. 1902.

Fitted with a meniscus lens of fixed aperture and focus. Rotary shutter T/I. Sighting lines on camera top. Accessory clip on reflecting viewfinder. Eastman Kodak. 1908-1915. In original carton with Brownie motif.

George Eastman marketed the original Brownie to be an inexpensive camera for the mass market; when first introduced in 1900, the price of the camera was just $1(about 25p). As well as being cheap, the camera was extremely simple to use, even for children. Eastman named the camera after characters popularised by the Canadian children's author, Palmer Cox (1840-1924), in his series of books and comic strips 'The Brownies', illustrations of which feature on the box.

Details

Category:: Photographic Technology

Collection:: Kodak Collection

Object Number:: 1990-5036/2682

type:: box camera

credit:: The Kodak Collection at the National Media Museum, Bradford

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Parts

Box camera for 117 rollfilm 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 inches

No1 Brownie Camera Model B

Costing just five shillings (25p), the Brownie brought photography within the reach of almost everyone. Millions of ‘Box Brownies’ were sold over the following decades.

Measurements:: overall: 82 mm x 80 mm x 125 mm, .26 kg

Materials:: wood (unidentified) , leatherette and metal (unknown)

Object Number:: 1990-5036/2682/1

type:: box camera and rollfilm camera

Carton for No 1 Brownie camera Model B

Card carton for No 1 Brownie camera Model B, with Brownie motif. Eastman Kodak. 1908-1915.

The Kodak ‘Brownie’ camera takes its name from the fictional ‘Brownie’ creature – a kind of fairy or sprite. Brownies were first popularised in Scottish folklore and featured in illustrations by Palmer Cox (1840 -1924). Through using a well-known children’s character to advertise their new cameras, the Kodak Company developed an appealing and memorable brand – contributing to the camera’s mass appeal.