My Brownie....The Original from 1900

I thought that I would share a very special camera out of my collection with you folks here.

 

This is my Kodak Brownie, the $1.00 camera first offered for sale by Eastman Kodak in 1900. This technically isn't the very first brownie, as the very first production run of 15,000 had a problematic shoe-box style back cover, and were only sold from February to March 1900. This model was a revision of the design to include a sliding latch and was sold from March 1900 until October 1901 when the No.2 Brownie was released and this camera got renamed as the No.1 Brownie.

 

The acquisition of this camera is an interesting story in of itself. I happened across a small antique store in northern Michigan a few years back and inquired the proprietor about cameras. She then showed me a cardboard box full of a dozen or more mostly uninteresting 35mm point and shoot cameras along with some accessories, I saw a Kodak Bantam in there too, which was enough to convince me to pay the asking price of $20 for the lot. Later, when I was able to unpack the lot I found this forlorn little box in the bottom, and opening the back I realized quite what I had. The small reflex finder was also found in the box.

 

 

 

My camera has multiple wear marks, but complete with the detachable (and often lost) winding key, the optional reflex finder and is light tight. The reflex finder is still workable too as the mirror hasn't desilvered.

 

 

Pulling off the front reveals the simple rotary shutter. Pushing the lever on top either to the left or the right trips the shutter for an instantaneous exposure (probably about 1/30 of a second). There is a small lever on the right side which can be pulled out with a fingernail and allows for time exposures. The lens is a simple meniscus and is set up for a single aperture size (probably somewhere from f/11 to f/16).

 

 

The red window is intact on the back.

 

 

 

Sliding the latch on the back and pulling down the rear cover reveals the film holder assembly. This card is folded over the backing paper after it is wound around the back of the wood and card assembly. The gold letters "Brownie Camera" identify this camera as one of the 1900 models as the later cameras would say "No.1 Brownie".

 

 

 

I will admit, shooting with the camera that started it all and brought photography into the hands of the average consumer is a very tempting proposition. I would very much like to shoot with this camera, but I have not done so yet as it takes the now long obsolete 117 roll film. 117 film is the original 2 1/4" x 2 1/4" film with six exposures per roll. 120 film is the same width and the numerical markings on the back would work, but 117 film had a narrower spool flange diameter of 7/8" vs just over 1" for 120. This means that 120 spools will not fit in the Brownie. I have some plastic spools which I have reduced the flange diameter to fit the Brownie, but a full roll of 120 will still not fit as it will exceed the flange diameter and result in light leaks. One solution would be to cut down a roll of 120, both the film and backing paper to six exposures in order for it to fit. The other option would be to make a custom spool with a spindle that is similar to that found on a 620 spool but with the height and keyhole size of a 120 spool and the flange diameter of a 117 spool, this would result in being able to fit 12 exposures per roll. I assume a slower film like Ilford Pan F+ would be ideal for a camera like this in bright sun or slightly overcast conditions.

 

 

Some 620 cameras will take a 120 roll as source spool, though you still need a 620 spool for take-up.

 

In your case, will as 620 spool fit in for source, depending on how it holds the spool.

 

Otherwise, load and unload in the dark to avoid light leaks into the (reduced size) spool.

There are a couple problems with using a 620 spool. The flange diameter is still a bit too large, and the spool is a bit too short since the holder doesn't have spool centers.

 

I have tried my modified spools with backing paper only, and have observed that they bind a bit at the start of the roll and the end, My fear is that with film on the spool there simply wouldn't be enough room in the film chambers for 12 exposures without binding up the camera.

Hi Hunter

There is a film spool size chart here Roll and cartridge film sizes. The spool size is unlikely to be a 620 as they were not introduced until much later. More likely to be similar to 620 with smaller flanges. As you can see the main difference between your 117 and the 120/620 is the size of the flanges at either end. The 117 spool was good for 6 exposures, which would have led to a smaller flange diameter. I think I would first sacrifice a roll of 120 film and cut the film and backing paper for 6 exposures. These can be used a a template to cut unexposed film to size in a darkroom or dark bag. Turn down a 120 or 620 spool to 7/8" .875 diameter. If the 117 has a steel flange then best use a 620 spool. Roll the cut film onto the spool and see what happens. I have seen spools that want to bind a bit at the start. I found this to be caused by an overfull roll.

Good luck.

Every now and then 117 shows up on ebay. Simply buy a spool or two and reload with cut film.

 

Kent in SD

Ciao a tutti sono nuovo del sito, ho trovato questa fotocamera, mi sembra una Brownie del 1900 cosa ne pensate?

Dario

Ciao a tutti sono nuovo del sito, ho trovato questa fotocamera, mi sembra una Brownie del 1900 cosa ne pensate?

Dario[ATTACH=full]1333977[/ATTACH]

 

(Hi everyone, I'm new to the site, I found this camera, it seems to me a 1900 Brownie what do you think?)

The winding lever seems to be in the wrong position for a 1900 Brownie. Is there any information on the inside of the camera?

It is either an original Brownie or a No.1, the camera has just been rotated 90 degrees and the viewfinder clipped to the side. The way to tell whether it is an original or a No.1 is to open the back and look at the flap which will say No.1 if it is a No.1 or just "Brownie" if it is one of the originals. I would suspect it is a No.1 though because of the course grain leatherette.