How the Box Camera Got Its Start
Question: I have an old box camera that I believe goes back half a century or more. What can you tell me about it?--M.F.
Answer: The simple box camera generated dramatic changes in the photography industry. Introduced by George Eastman in 1888, it was relatively small in design and modeled after some earlier models that had been marketed in Europe.
Eastman’s camera had a magazine and could take 100 pictures that were 2 1/2 inches in diameter. It was called the Kodak No. 1 and was the prototype for an explosion of similarly designed cameras in the ensuing years.
Two other popular cameras were marketed a few years after Eastman’s brainstorm excited public interest. Kodak’s first folding camera was introduced as Model No. 4, and the ubiquitous Brownie surfaced at the turn of the century.
It’s generally agreed that a German monk, Johann Zahn, experimented in the early 1800s with one of the first, if not the first, portable wooden box camera.
Zahn’s camera had an adjustable lens and a mirror to project an image. The problem was he didn’t have film upon which to record that image.
In fact, it wasn’t until 1851 that a photo process was developed using images recorded on glass. And another 37 years passed before Eastman developed a roll of coated film that could be loaded into the magazine of his box camera.
Mail Bag
Paper collectibles expert Ada Fitzsimmons’ list of what is likely to be hot in the collectible market of the 1990s sparked another list from collectibles author Tony Hyman of Claremont.
“After 37 years of collecting and 10 years helping amateurs with my series of buyer’s directories, I guess I’m in a position to make some prognostications for the ‘90s,” he wrote.
“This is my list of items that are relatively inexpensive today and almost certain to rise in value. Because these are inherently interesting, they make great items for someone who is just starting to collect:
“Cigarette dispensers (table-top devices); cigarette lighters; folk arts of Mexico and South America; electric toasters and irons; fast-food-chain memorabilia; micro computers and related literature and ads.”
Also, “hippie-era posters, especially music and anti-war; TV personality collectibles; labor union collectibles; Richard Nixon memorabilia; costume jewelry; American folk music recordings, ‘Sesame Street’ toys and books.”
What’s more, “real estate promotions from California, Florida, Hawaii and the Sun Belt; X-rated movie posters; health, fitness and body building materials; Playboy Club ephemera; neon art; matchbook covers; calculators and early measuring and drawing tools.”
And finally, “Dr. Seuss; Space Age collectibles; rayon and nylon clothing and lingerie of the 1940s and ‘50s; gay and lesbian ephemera from all periods; historic newspapers, cigar boxes and ephemera; Vietnam war souvenirs; Las Vegas souvenirs, and hats.”
(Because there are so many collectors of Disneyana, we would add to this list items generated by new Disney theme parks, such as the one in Japan. These parks may produce a number of new Disney collectible items in the 1990s that could be added to the already enormously popular products spawned by that legendary mouse and duck decades ago.)
Hyman is the author of “I’ll Buy That! A Guide to the Best Buyers of Antiques, Collectibles and Other Undiscovered Treasures Around Your Home and Office.” The price is $24.30, which covers mailing and tax. Write P.O. Box 699, Claremont, Calif. 91711.