Category Archives: history

a TLR box camera

Posted on August 17, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. In July, 1940, Kodak placed an ad in Popular Mechanics announcing its new “TLR” Brownie. The camera was short lived (1940-41) but did last a decade longer as a synchronized version taking flash bulbs. Aside from the bight full-size … Continue reading →

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going full circle …

Posted on August 16, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. … often meant starting over as perhaps the designer of this odd panorama camera did. The article in the December, 1940 issue of Popular Mechanics describes a clock-work camera that records a full 360 degree image in fifteen seconds … Continue reading →

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Duex Redux

Posted on August 15, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. The ad in the August, 1940 issue of Popular Mechanics brought to mind the camera Mark Singer presented at our Show and Tell meeting a couple of years back. The little inexpensive camera was only marketed in 1940-1942. Kodak, no … Continue reading →

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projecting a colourful 3D display

Posted on August 14, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. This article appeared in the September, 1940 issue of Popular Mechanics just a few years after Kodachrome arrived for 35mm transparencies created by an ordinary 35mm camera. Now these slides could be taken ready for 3D and projected so … Continue reading →

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faking a fading light

Posted on August 12, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Earlier this year we discussed movie fades in relation to a polarizing filter set that could be affixed to many movie lenses for 8mm or 16mm cameras (a May 1940 article). A few month earlier, in October, 1939 another … Continue reading →

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it pays to advertise (again) …

Posted on August 11, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. … or so they say. There are many innovative ways to advertise and this article found by my good friend, George Dunbar, who shared it here with us, shows oner example. In the December, 1939 issue of Popular Mechanics, … Continue reading →

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what goes around …

Posted on August 10, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. … comes around. Or so the old saying goes. And to prove a point, the November, 1939 issue of Popular Mechanics carried this article about an unnamed American ‘inventor’ who came up with the idea of a circular film, … Continue reading →

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better than a clockwork camera

Posted on August 9, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. In May of 1939, Popular Mechanics did an article on a nameless camera that used an electric motor rather than the usual spring wound affair. Its ‘fresh egg’ was allowing a full 25 foot spool of film to be … Continue reading →

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liquid silver

Posted on August 7, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. In the days of films and glass plates, the job of a developer solution was to  convert the silver halides in the emulsion to metallic silver in proportion to the light intensity hitting the molecules. The process had to … Continue reading →

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a modest merger

Posted on August 6, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. In 1729, an anonymous article called, “A Modest Proposal” was written by Jonathan Swift, known for his satirical tales like, “Gulliver’s Travels“. The article was also intended to be a satirical piece but was taken as very serious when … Continue reading →

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