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| Brownie B:c.1924-1931 model. Brownie Flash B: 1957-1959 |
Up until 1900, photography was a hobby for
the rich or a profession for the very few.
Made out of
brass and wood, cameras were expensive, bulky and very awkward to carry.
Pictures were shot onto large plates of glass or metal with the people being
photographed having to pose and stand still for what seemed like an eternity.
It
was a small robust handheld cardboard box camera made by the US company Kodak
that sold for one dollar in 1900 which revolutionized photography and made it
available to the masses.
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| Mary Brannelly with a Brownie camera, 1950, Belleville, Athenry, co. Galway, Ireland |
Taken
a photo was simplified. All the
user had to do was to point the camera in the right direction, use its small
viewfinder to centre onto the subject matter and pull or click a protruding
switch. The snapshot was born. The completed film could be taken out of its
camera box and sent off for development and printing to chemists and other
retail stores.
Kodak was a
film making company. The inexpensive Brownie created a huge
demand for their films by giving the people the means to take pictures again
and again when the mood or opportunity suited.
Designed
by Frank Brownell, the little portable Brownie allowed ordinary people all over
the world for the first time to capture on film the everyday moments in their lives. The family photo album soon followed. Even
children became users such was its ease-of-use. Produced by Kodak for over eight decades, the Brownie can be said
to have captured more of the 20th century than any other kind of camera.
The
most popular version of the Brownie was the No.2 Brownie. Introduced in 1902 it
continued to be manufactured in
some form until the late 1950s.
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