Classic Cameras Kodak Collectibles
Brownie, Hawkette, Cresta, Sterling and Bantam Colorsnap Cameras
Some collectors, craving a bygone era, will search for any classic or antique cameras whilst others are more discerning and will collect just one manufacturer's products.
In 1888 George Eastman introduced the Kodak camera and the publicity campaign that accompanied its appearance said: "you press the button, we do the rest". As this complicated and awkward process became simple and easy to use photography became easily accessible to almost everyone.
Americans in Britain
In 1891 Kodak's first factory located outside the United States was opened in Harrow, England. Kodak has since become such a household name in Britain that we tend to forget its American origins.
Over the years Kodak has produced a great many cameras for the British market but it was the introduction of the Brownie cameras that really took photography to the amateur market. Some of Kodak's most popular cameras included the Brownie 127, the Cresta, Hawkette, Sterling, and Colorsnap.
The Brownie 127 (c. 1952) was the camera that everyone's mother had. The name persisted for many years with numerous redesigns and updates to keep up with changing fashion trends.
The Hawkette No. 2 (c.1954) was Kodak's first Bakelite folding camera. This was a basic "premium" camera, given away in exchange for coupons from cigarette packets and magazines.
The slightly more advanced Cresta lll appeared in 1960. This lightweight plastic camera came with an eye-level view finder, single shutter speed fixed at 1/40th second, Dakon close-up lens and screw flash contacts. Using 120-film it produced 2¼" x 2 ¼" photos. Although not particularly rare these are still collected by many. If you have the original instruction manual and box this makes it far more interesting to collectors.
Kodak's Sterling II (there was no No. 1) was the favourite of many schoolboys in the mid-1950s. With its Anaston f4.5 105 mm focusing lens and Pronto shutter, it is rarer than most folders of its time and has become highly collectible.
The 35 mm Bantam Colorsnap appeared in 1959. This model had settings for brightness and cloud conditions, focus adjustments and flash, Dakon Shutter fixed at about 1/50th second and Anaston lens. 35mm film meant more photographs per roll of film so that colour photography was quickly becoming an affordable hobby. Although manufactured in Britain the Colorsnap retained its American spelling.
With the advent of digital cameras the skills associated with photography are quickly being forgotten. The darkroom has been replaced by the computer and there is no need to calculate shutter speeds or apertures. The modern digital camera does everything automatically. Collectors of classic cameras reflect a growing trend, nostalgia for the light meters, for the calculations and the dark room and for most of us these are now a thing of the past!
Sources:
- Kodak Cameras; the First 100 Years, Brian Coe, Hove Collectors' Books (2003), ISBN 1874707375
- Classic Cameras: the Collector's Guide to Identifying, Buying and Enjoying Classic Cameras, Kate Rouse, Eagle Editions Ltd., (2002), ISBN 1861605056
- The Collector's Guide to Classic Cameras 1945-1985, John Wade, Hove Books Ltd., (1999) ISBN 1897802110
