For sale is an antique No 1 KODAK JUNIOR FOLDING CAMERA from the Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, NY. The camera is marked with a 50864 serial number. This autographic feature metal body camera is marked with various patent dates which range in ages from 1898 through 1914. This camera was probably manufactured in 1915. The Kodak Ball Bearing speeds speeds: 1/25 – 1/50, B, T. The camera focusing bellows allowed taking photos of subjects from 8′ to 100′. The camera takes pictures on 2 ¼” x 3 ¼” exposures on 120 roll-film. The No 1 Kodak Junior was introduced in April 1914 and discontinued in December of the same year as a result of the introduction of autographic film. The camera was then continued as the No 1 Autographic Kodak Junior. A great collectible camera.
The autographic feature was patented by Henry Jacques Gaisman, who was an inventor and manufacturer of safety razors. George Eastman purchased the patent in 1913 for $300,000. The autographic feature was only available on Kodak cameras. There are two elements to the autographic feature: the film itself and the dedicated door fitted to the back of the camera.
A special metal scribing tool (sometimes referred to as a stylus) was provided, which could be stored somewhere on the camera body (usually either attached to the door or otherwise on a hanger on the lens standard). When the photographer wanted to make a note about a particular picture he had taken, the door was opened and the scribe was used like a pen to write and press the message against the small area of paper backing that was visible beneath the open door. The pressure of the scribe caused the inner carbon layer to compact and become translucent and the light that passed through the lines of the message written with the scribe left an image on the film. The door had to be left open for a second or two to expose the film. When the film was developed, the scribed message could be seen along the upper margin of the photograph.
From the company’s founding by George Eastman in 1888, Kodak followed a business strategy of selling low profit margin cameras and then making large profit margins on consumables such as film, chemicals and paper. As late as 1976, Kodak commanded 90% of film sales and 85% of camera sales in the U.S. The emergence of digital cameras sparked a death spiral for this iconic American company.
