It was an ordinary day. Reading my latest copy of "The Saturday Evening Post" which just arrived a few days ago. The magazine is celebrating their 200th year of publication with some very interesting stories from the past. One such story on one of the last pages of the magazine was a story titled "Kodak's Lasting Impression." A very short story about vintage advertising and the beginnings of photography for the amateur photographer. Talked about Mr. George Eastman's 1888 Kodak camera that made amateur photography available to everyone.
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| Mr. George Eastman with his Brownie camera. |
Wasn't the cheapest hobby by far since one of the new cameras, which was loaded with a full roll of film that would take 100 photographs, cost the buyer $25. Sound cheap to you? May be by today's standards, but back in 1888 the camera, loaded with film, cost $690 in today's dollars. And when you had finished taking your 100 photographs you would have to send it back to Eastman Kodak in Rochester, New York for development.  |
| Advertisement for the camera loaded with 100 pictures. |
That would cost you another $10 which today would be $270. So, for $960 you could have 100 photographs for your family album. In the first year the company sold just about 2,500 camera/film combo's. Twelve years later, Mr. Eastman introduced the Brownie camera which allowed you to buy your own film, expose the film and then take the film to a local photofinisher for development. For less than $2.00 anyone could buy the Brownie camera, a roll of film and have it processed. By 1905 Kodak had sold 10 million cameras.  |
| An advertisement for the Kodak camera for $1. |
The story in "The Saturday Evening Post" told the entire story on half a page which also included one of their advertisements. Where would the world be today without the keen mind of George Eastman. After graduating from college I began teaching Industrial Arts at my high school alma mater. I eventually started a course in photography and the students loved it. We loaded our own black and white film into film canisters, took photos according to my assignments, developed the film in the darkroom and made our own black and white photographs. Not many teachers in the school enjoyed going to school as much as I did. I enjoyed my class as much as the students did. I know of close to a half-dozen of my former students who became well-known professional photographers, making a very good living off of photography. About the same time I began teaching, I also began a collection of Kodak cameras and equipment.  |
| One of a few tables I covered with my photography collection. |
I eventually sold it about 20 years ago and to this day regret that I ever did so. I think back to all the history I had collected that I would share with my classes, but after retiring I didn't have a need for my collection and I parted with it. I only hope that whomever purchased it from me is enjoying it as much as I did for the time I had it.  |
| I also had about a dozen old Kodak box cameras. |
Perhaps one of my former students might now own a piece of my old collection and are thanking me for their love of photography every time they look at the item. I am reminded from time to time that all those boxes filled with my collectables will not have to be relocated when my wife and I finally decide to enjoy life in a retirement community where all we have to do is enjoy our lives and perhaps take a course in...photography. Hey, perhaps I can even teach that course! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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