Or part of it, at any rate! Kodak's name will be remembered, not because of any major technical development, but because it was the first company to produce equipment that could be used by anyone. Up till this time would-be photographers virtually had to be chemists as well as artists; they were picture makers in a very real sense! When Kodak cameras appeared on the scene, picture taking came to the fore, and this paved the way for people to concentrate on the image, and leave the preparation and the development processes to others.

The genius behind the Kodak camera - and its name - was George Eastman. His first box camera (the Eastman Cossitt) was produced in 1886, but it was too costly. In July 1888 the Kodak camera was exhibited for the first time in Minneapolis, and became an instant success.

Why the name Kodak? It was short, and easy to pronounce. In the 1920s Eastman wrote: The letter "K" had been a favourite with me - it seems a strong, incisive sort of letter. It became a question of trying out a great number of combinations of letters that made words starting and ending with "K".

The Kodak was relatively small (approximately 6"x3"x3") and though it weighed nearly three pounds, was still much lighter than current cameras. There was no film counter, and was sold with film for 100 exposures (paper-based, incidentally). The lens was wide, with a sixty degree angle of view, thus anything from four feet onwards would be in sharp focus. Because of the wide angle, it was not considered necessary to have a viewfinder. However, the wide angle lens had very poor definition at the edges, so a circular mask was placed in front of the film at the focal plane - which was not to everybody's liking.

What features did the first Kodak have which caused it to have such an impact?

• It contained a 20 foot roll of light-sensitive film, sufficient to allow for as many as a hundred pictures approximately 2 1/2" in diameter.
• it could be used in the hand
• the shutter worked at roughly 1/25s., which ensured that pictures were sharp provided that one kept the camera still
• the camera had an f9 lens which ensured that all subjects beyond eight feet or would be in sharp focus.

In effect, it opened the door for photographers to take pictures, without having to learn about processing or chemicals. It was a watershed as far as photography for the ordinary person was concerned.

As the advertisements claimed, there were only three simple movements to make: setting the shutter, pressing the exposure button, and winding the film on. And at the end of the film one simply sent the entire camera for processing, and it would be returned with a new film installed. Hence the famous advertising slogan "You Press the Button, We do the Rest!" The Kodak reached Britain towards the end of 1888, and was immediately acclaimed. The Amateur Photographer review stated:We venture to say that it is, without exception, the most beautiful instrument that has ever been offered for the public in connection with photography." It rapidly became the tourist's camera. From the Photographic News Almanac, 1891: "In my varied wanderings I have met the gentleman with the black leather covered box everywhere.... where the American tourists swarm, the Kodak seems as necessary a part of their belongings as the portmanteau" ( a leather trunk for clothes etc., opening into two equal parts). Other versions soon followed, the No.2 Kodak camera introducing transparent celluloid film for the first time.

If you are visitng the UK or already live there, the National Museum of Photography Film and Television is a must. The Kodak Gallery will take you through the history of popular photography from its earliest days up to the present.


By Dr. Robert Leggat