Kodak: The 20th century in Cameras and Advertising

With Liz and Buster
(Keaton, That Is)
by Ria Ryne

Kodaks everywhere. Big Kodaks, little Kodaks, your first Kodak, your Grandfather's first Kodak--they were all there, in spirit if not in fact, as Liz Whitaker was our tour guide on a trip down Kodak's Memory Lane. As impressive as the wide variety of cameras was, equally intriguing was the broad array of advertising materials on display.
Looking at the history of Kodak allows not only a look at the history of photography in this country, but also glimpses at fashion as well as significant events in world history. As an example of the latter, in 1892 a Kodak camera accompanied Peary to the North Pole.

The early Kodaks for the amateur photographer took advantage of George Eastman's pioneering work in developing a flexible film base, which eliminated the necessity of using cumbersome glass plates. Photography became accessible to non-photographers, to people who just wanted to take some photos on a picnic or a vacation.
Folding cameras, an even more convenient form, began appearing around 1890, the Brownie made its debut in 1900. As in indication of how popular these Kodak cameras were: around 1,750,000 Vest Pocket Autographic were sold.
The first 35mm cameras, (or as they were referred to then- "miniatures"), developed to utilize the film that was being produced for motion pictures, came on the scene in the 1930's.
The Kodak Retina series, still popular with shooters and collectors alike, was launched in 1934-35 with the original Retina (Type 117) and continued until 1960's when the Model S2 was the last of the line.
The Medalist, a photographic handful is ever there was one, the myriad 127 roll film Brownie cameras that were the first cameras for legions of budding photographers. (My first was a Brownie Starmite II, Christmas 1963. I still have it. I still shoot with it.) Who could forget the ubiquitous Instamatics? The ill-fated foray into the instant photo domain staked out by Polaroid?
So many cameras, so little time.

The presentation wound up with a film featuring Buster Keaton, the Great Stone Face himself, struggling through the ages to take a photo of his beloved, and stay out of the way of his beloved's Mother. I am sure that most in the audience could empathize with his photographic problems as well as his difficulties with his incipient mother-in-law. Click Here to Read More!

Tandy Leather Factory Opens Retail Store in Tucson

Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. announced today that it is opening a new retail store in Tucson. Tandy Leather has possibly the largest array of leather available for camera repair and restoration in an accessible retail location. The new store is located at 6061 East Broadway Boulevard, Suite 118, between Craycroft and Wilmot and is open for business as of today.
Chief Executive Officer, Ron Morgan, commented, “We are excited to be opening a Tandy Leather retail store in Tucson. It should be a nice compliment to our Leather Factory wholesale store located approximately six miles away. We have a solid retail customer base in the Tucson area and believe we can expand that base with a local store. Krystal Wright will be managing the new store. She has been training in our Austin store for six months under one of our best training managers and has several years of customer service experience in the retail industry. I have no doubt that she will do well managing her own store.”

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