I obtained this old box from one of grandparent’s homes on their passing, I don’t recall which one.  I always knew it was a camera, but until recently I didn’t know it was a special camera. Thanks Internet!

In 1930 the Eastman Kodak Company celebrated its 50th anniversary with a gift.  Any child who had a 12th birthday that year was eligible to receive a free Brownie camera and a roll of film (#120).  The giveaway was endorsed by first lady Grace Coolidge.  A total of 557,000 cameras were given away.

It was not just this particular edition; all along the Brownies were designed and marketed for children starting in February of 1900, that’s 115 years old this month.  The name Brownie comes from Palmer Cox’s popular characters from the 1880s; and is said to be the Walt Disney of his day.  At that time for the cost of $1 anyone could take photographs with the hand-held Brownie.

20 years later Brownies similar to this one were retailing for $2.75.  The image size was 2¼” x 3¼” using Kodak’s #120 roll film, which is still available today.  I can’t determine how many images it might be able to take.  The camera has a meniscus lens with a rotary shutter.  A meniscus lens is a lens that is convex on one side and concave on the other.  This camera these days can be found on eBay for around $20, this one is in rough condition and probably isn’t worth $5.

Which grandparent?  In checking my family tree, my grandmothers weren’t the right age and my maternal grandfather was 16.  My paternal grandfather turned 12 in 1930 (but he never struck me as a photographer type).  My father confirmed that the camera came from his parent’s home; he believes some of the old pictures we’ve seen over the years may have come from that camera.  I’ve seen pictures taken by this model online and they look real good; I’m going to have to obtain some film and see for myself.

Since I couldn’t recall where this initially came from, I suggest this go in the museum of Forgotten Childhood Memories.

More information about Brownie cameras can be found at brownie-camera.com, including examples of photos taken with the camera. Kodak also has a site dedicated to the Brownie.

Exhibited by Dennis K

Transcript by Dennis K