The most important cardboard box ever?

[Trigger]

It doesn't look very exciting - a cardboard box about 5in (13cm) tall, covered in leatherette, with a small round opening at the front. You might have some trouble working out what it was for if you didn't know. But the Brownie might be the most important camera ever made, writes the BBC's Stephen Dowling.

Before it appeared in 1900, cameras were distinctly unwieldy, if not downright cumbersome. Early cameras tended to be made of a great deal of brass and mahogany and took pictures on to large glass or metal plates, often requiring exposure times measured in minutes. To photograph far-flung places, porters and pack animals were often needed to carry the equipment. Photography was an activity involving patience, toxic chemicals, and brute strength. It was not something the ordinary people indulged in.

US inventor George Eastman took an important step forward in the 1880s, when he popularised a flexible film that did away with the need for weighty plates. His first "Kodak Camera" went on sale in 1888, pre-loaded with enough film to take 100 photographs. When the last picture was taken, the entire camera was sent back to Kodak to be developed. It was an uncomplicated box but it cost $25 - a significant amount of money. It was still a device for the wealthy.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30530268

[nikkai]

Thank you Trigger a great read
I think I remember that the name Kodak was just a jumble of letters that meant nothing to the Eastman group
(I could be wrong though)

[Trigger]

Thank you Trigger a great read
I think I remember that the name Kodak was just a jumble of letters that meant nothing to the Eastman group
(I could be wrong though)

You're welcome! Regarding the meaning/origin of the name KODAK - you're right! http://www.darklanecreative.com/blog/th ... word-kodak - another interesting read!

My first camera was Mum's Kodak Box Brownie - but not the cardboard version - that even predates me!

[frankiesays]

Thank you Trigger a great read
I think I remember that the name Kodak was just a jumble of letters that meant nothing to the Eastman group
(I could be wrong though)

You're welcome! Regarding the meaning/origin of the name KODAK - you're right! http://www.darklanecreative.com/blog/th ... word-kodak - another interesting read!

My first camera was Mum's Kodak Box Brownie - but not the cardboard version - that even predates me!

Not a pin-hole camera then Trigger? ;-)

[Trigger]

[Not a pin-hole camera then Trigger? ;-)

Nope - tho' I made one of them when I was in the Cubs - and, around the same time, made a Cat's Whisker Radio - though the cat was none too pleased! I remember I took it upstairs when I went to bed - and listened to the Last Night of the Proms which was conducted by "Flash Harry"!