Brownie?

[jim_gibbons]

<p>I have had this camera for some time. I assume it belonged to a grandparent as it has always been in the family since as long as I can recall. What I cannot figure out is if it is a brownie or not. It has nothing written on it and does not appear to have taken roll film as it has no crank/knob. It looks like a Brownie but even the best Brownie pages on the web don't seem to show this thing. It has no places to put roll type film inside either. I don't know if it had some type of insert that allowed roll film or if it took some type of sheet film. I'm wondering if there were brownie knockoffs made or if this is just a version I have never seen. Here is a link to some Flickr pics I took.<br>

<a href="

Thanks, Jim</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>While waiting for somebody who actually can identify this particular camera, I'll just note that this was an almost universal format for box cameras (hence the name) and it sometimes seems like everyone making cameras at the time made one that looked pretty much like yours.<br /> It's not really a question of "knock-offs" as such, but a shared format for early, cheap roll-film cameras.</p>

[ernest-b]

<p>It looks like it was made to use glass-plate negatives, not roll film. </p>

<p>A plateholder could go in back, held in place by the hinged door; with the door closed and secured, the darkslide could be pulled up and reinserted through the wide slot/recess at the top of the hinged door.</p>

[Dustin McAmera]

<p>As you say, this can't have been for roll film; no winding apparatus, no rollers, and no red window. Plates or a film pack.<br>

I think it might be one of these - the back fastening looks right:<br /><br>

<a href="http://www.boxcameras.com/premojrno1.html">http://www.boxcameras.com/premojrno1.html</a><br>

<br />... or there are a lot of others to browse, if you click on 'Back to Cameras Home' on that page.</p>

<p> </p>

[ernest-b]

<p>Often, on cameras of that era, the only explicit identification was embossed into the leather carrying-handle. That likely was the case with yours. </p>

[cliffmanley]

<p>Pete is correct. He wins the prize of that day, whatever that is.</p>

[jim_gibbons]

<p>Pete wins! My gratitude is all i can give you. I have a very faint memory of this camera possibly in action (although it could have been a polaroid I recall). I remember a parent or grandparent pulling black tabs out of a camera in order to take another picture. Foggy memory and being "only" 43 that type of film may have already been discontinued when I was a kid. I did put a piece of tracing paper in the back to check where it focused and it seemed sharp. I was just given a complete darkroom setup so at some point I'll stick a hunk of photo paper in the back and take a pic with it to see what happens. Thanks again.</p>

[mfophotos]

<p>If you recall black tabs -- it would have been a pack-film polaroid. There were a number of box cameras that took film packs and glass plates into the 1920s.</p>

[cliffmanley]

<p><em>"If you recall black tabs -- it would have been a pack-film polaroid." </em>??? Many of the pack films had black tabs.</p>

[jack_welsh]

<p>Jim, instead of photo paper. Cut a sheet of Ortho film. I've done it with the larger box cameras and it works great.</p>

[mfophotos]

<p>True, Pete, but I took it as him pulling out a finished image, not using a negative pack.</p>

[john_shriver]

<p>Definitely a film pack camera. Pulling the tab pulled the "top" negative into the back of the film pack, leaving another negative at the top of the stack ready to expose. Used very thin film, like rollfilm, so it could make a sharp U-turn into the back of the film pack.<br>

Pack film has been unavailable for decades.<br>

Kodak bought Premo for their film pack patent.</p>

 

[jim_gibbons]

<p>Well we had many cameras but I think I remember my brother might have tried this camera out when I was a kid. It's hard to seperate the memory of whether it was polaroid or this little brownie. I might try the Ortho film Pete suggested although I did try some old photo paper and got a neg or two that looked decent.<br>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40476451@N07/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/40476451@N07/</a><br>

My darkroom for this little experiment is pretty slapped together, it's 105 here and the basement is a bit on the warm side also.</p>