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1910s

Vest Pocket Kodak

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The Vest Pocket Kodak (commonly known as “VPK”) is an early compact folding camera introduced in 1912 by Eastman Kodak. Designed to fit neatly into users’ pockets and later heavily marketed to British, American, Australian, French, Italian, and other Allied soldiers during World War I, the Vest Pocket Kodak was one of the most successful cameras of its day, reportedly selling over two million units during its 15 year production life. The VPK is also famous for having accompanied English mountaineers George Mallory and Andrew Irvine during their fatal expedition to Mount Everest in 1924. While Mallory’s remains were discovered in 1999, Irvine’s body and camera are still missing. Once found, the hope is that the film inside Irvine’s Vest Pocket Kodak may finally tell us whether or not the two climbers had succeeded in reaching the summit nearly thirty years before Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay‘s 1953 expedition.

Ernemann Heag II

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The Ernemann Heag II is a multi-format folding camera introduced in 1913 by Ernemann. Founded in the German city of Dresden in 1889, the company manufactured still cameras, cinema cameras, and projection equipment. After Germany lost World War I, the Treaty of Versailles meant that the country had to pay an exorbitant amount of money in reparations (approximately 442 billion USD in today’s economy, a vast sum they finally paid off in 2010) which left its economy in utter ruin. The German camera industry floundered, forcing Ernemann to merge with three other companies (ICA, Goerz, and Contessa-Nettel) to form Zeiss Ikon in order to stay afloat.

Kodak No. 2A Brownie Model B

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The Kodak No. 2A Brownie Model B is a basic box camera made of thick, leatherette-covered cardboard introduced in 1911 by Eastman Kodak. The Model B is an early variation of the ubiquitous No. 2A Brownie which saw a production run from 1907 to 1933 with millions of units. Eventually, later versions of the No. 2A Brownie featured bodies made of aluminum instead of cardboard and saw the camera available in a variety of different colors.

Ernemann Bob 00

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The Ernemann Bob 00 is a multi-format folding camera introduced in 1914 by Ernemann-Werke AG. Founded by Heinrich Ernemann in 1889, Ernemann produced both still and cinema cameras as well as film projectors. After its defeat in the First World War, the Treaty of Versailles forced Germany to pay 132 billion marks in reparations (about 442 billion USD in today’s economy, a mind-blowing sum they spent nearly a century repaying) which laid waste to their national economy. The German camera industry was not spared during this period of hyperinflation and Ernemann was forced to merge with three other companies (ICA, Goerz, and Contessa-Nettel) to form Zeiss Ikon.

Ernemann Heag XV

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Roughly the size of a large stack of playing cards, the Ernemann Heag XV is a pocket-sized folding camera introduced in 1911 by Ernemann. Founded by Heinrich Ernemann in 1889, the company produced both still and cinema cameras as well as projection equipment. After its defeat in the First World War, the Treaty of Versailles forced Germany to pay an enormous amount of money in reparations (about 442 billion USD in today’s economy, a sum they only just finished paying off in 2010) which absolutely devastated its economy. Unfortunately, the German camera industry floundered during this period of hyperinflation, causing Ernemann to merge with three other companies (ICA, Goerz, and Contessa-Nettel) to form Zeiss Ikon.

Kodak No. 2A Folding Pocket Brownie

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The Kodak No. 2A Folding Pocket Brownie is an early folding camera introduced by Eastman Kodak Company in 1910 at a price of $7 (about $170 in today’s money). The No. 2A is designed for the now defunct 116 film format which is very similar to 616 but with wider spool flanges. While we may think it’s a bit strange for Kodak to name this brick-sized camera a “Pocket” Brownie, it was considerably more portable than many of its contemporaries.

Kodak No. 3A Autographic

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The Kodak No. 3A Autographic is one of Kodak’s early folding cameras and was designed to take a variant of 122 format film, commonly known as the postcard format. The specific variant in question is 122 autographic which allows you to use the camera’s metal stylus (seen here held by a metal clip onto the back of the camera) to record information about the photograph you just took by opening the long window underneath the stylus holder on the rear panel of the camera and writing directly onto the margin of the negative via carbon transfer paper. However, since autographic 122 seems to be nearly impossible to find these days, regular 122 film also works.