Kodak Brownie

Template:Short description Template:Infobox camera The Brownie was a series of camera models made by Eastman Kodak and first released in 1900.<ref>List of Brownie models at George Eastman House Template:Webarchive </ref>

It introduced the snapshot to the masses by addressing the cost factor which had meant that amateur photography remained beyond the means of many people;<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> the Pocket Kodak, for example, would cost most families in Britain nearly a whole month's wages.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Brownie was a basic cardboard box camera with a simple convex-concave lens that took Template:Frac-inch square pictures on No. 117 roll film. It was conceived and marketed for sales of Kodak roll films. Because of its simple controls and initial price of US$1 (equivalent to $Template:Format price in Template:Inflation/year Template:Inflation/fn) along with the low price of Kodak roll film and processing, the Brownie camera surpassed its marketing goal.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Invention and etymology

File:Kodak Brownie advert.jpg

Kodak Brownie advertisement

The Brownie was invented by Frank A. Brownell for the Eastman Kodak Company.<ref>Template:US patent</ref> Named after the Brownie characters popularised by the Canadian writer Palmer Cox, the camera was initially aimed at children. More than 150,000 Brownie cameras were shipped in the first year of production,<ref name="todd">Template:Cite book</ref> and cost a mere 5 shillings in the United Kingdom. An improved model, called No. 2 Brownie, came in 1901, which produced larger 3.25-by-2.25-inch (1.44:1 aspect ratio) photos, cost $2, and was also a huge success.<ref name=":0" />

Initially marketed to children, with Kodak using them to popularise photography, it achieved broader appeal as people realised that, although very simple in design and operation, the Brownie could produce very good results under the right conditions.

As they were ubiquitous, many iconic shots were taken on Brownies;<ref name=":0" /> on 15 April 1912, Bernice Palmer used a Kodak Brownie 2A, Model A<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> to photograph the iceberg that sank RMS Titanic as well as survivors hauled aboard RMS Carpathia, the ship on which Palmer was travelling.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They were also taken to war by soldiers but by World War I the more compact Vest Pocket Kodak Camera as well as Kodak's Autographic Camera were the most frequently used.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Another group of people that became posthumously known for their huge photo archive is the Nicholas II of Russia family, especially its four daughters (known as the OTMA sisters).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They even managed to make their Brownie models produce many panoramic 4:1 photos (see Gallery).

Having written an article in the 1940s for amateur photographers suggesting an expensive camera was unnecessary for quality photography, Picture Post photographer Bert Hardy used a Brownie camera to stage a carefully posed snapshot of 17-year-old Pat Stewart,<ref name="thetimes-2b7x8v099">Template:Cite news</ref> a Tiller Girls dancer, with her friend, Wendy Clarke, sitting on railings of North Pier,<ref name="thetimes-2b7x8v099"/> Blackpool, for the cover of Picture Post.<ref name="forbesindia-65065/7">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="galerieprints-hardy">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="gettyimages">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="vintag.es-pat-stewart">Template:Cite web</ref>

Varieties

The Kodak Brownie Number 2 is a box camera that was manufactured by the Eastman Kodak Company from 1901 to 1935.<ref name=todd/> There were five models, A through F, and it was the first camera to use 120 film. It also came with a viewfinder and a handle.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Brownie Number 2 was made of a choice of three materials: cardboard, costing US$2.00, aluminum, costing US$2.75, and a color model which cost US$2.50. It was a very popular and affordable camera, and many are still in use by film photographers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The cameras continued to be popular, and spawned many varieties, such as a Boy Scout edition in the 1930s. In 1940, Kodak released the Six-20 Flash Brownie,<ref name=todd/> Kodak's first internally synchronized flash camera, using General Electric bulbs. In 1957, Kodak produced the Brownie Starflash, Kodak's first camera with a built-in flash.<ref name=todd/>

The Brownie 127 was popular,<ref>"Brownie 127"</ref> selling in the millions between 1952 and 1967. It was a bakelite camera with a simple meniscus lens and a curved film plane to compensate for the deficiencies of the lens.Template:Citation needed Another model was the Brownie Cresta sold between 1955 and 1958. It used 120 film and had a fixed-focus lens.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The last official Brownie camera made was the Brownie II Camera, a 110 cartridge film model produced in Brazil for one year, 1986.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Gallery

The camera models

Brownie No. 2 (1901–1935)
Kodak Brownie No. 2A, Model A (1909-1911), used by Bernice Palmer aboard RMS Carpathia
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No. 2 Folding Autographic Brownie (1915–1926)
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Beau Brownie camera (1930–1933)
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Hawkeye Brownie Flash Model (1950–1961)
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Brownie Flash III (1957–1960)
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A Kodak Brownie Target Six-20 camera with its original box
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A Brownie Starflex camera with the cover for its finder window popped up.
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A Kodak Six-16 Brownie Junior box camera
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A Kodak Brownie Holiday Flash box camera