Category Archives: history

about that land in Florida

Posted on February 15, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. An article in the May 1940 issue of Popular Mechanics suggests a coating can double the lens speed (if only this were so …). We used to suggest to gullible people that if they believed something improbable, we have … Continue reading →

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Polarization is good for photography

Posted on February 14, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. … but not so good politically. In the days of film, one of the tools available to the photographer was a polarizing filter. Judicious use of the filter could improve contrast and colour saturation by removing reflections from smooth … Continue reading →

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photographic ideas that fizzled

Posted on February 11, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. In 1939, some people disliked photographic darkrooms because they were ummm – dark. So somebody came up with contact print paper with a built-in orange filter and a special ‘flexible frame’. As a filler, Popular Mechanics published a small … Continue reading →

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more than skin-deep

Posted on February 9, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Do you remember when you had an annual chest x-ray to detect TB? No? You must be a lot younger than me! This Popular Mechanics article from the January, 1939 issue shows how Westinghouse made an ‘electronic flash’ gizmo … Continue reading →

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not all brownies are edible

Posted on February 8, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. My mom used to make delicious brownies – deep brown and chocolaty like a very dense chocolate cake. Sometimes she would add walnut pieces too! In the late 1800s, Quebec-born Palmer Cox created the Brownies to  illustrate his Brownie … Continue reading →

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we have a winner!

Posted on February 7, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Sometimes a low price and great hype pay off. This combo paid off in spades for the Universal Camera Corporation in the late 1930s through the very early 1950s when its Univex 8mm movie cameras introduced a huge number … Continue reading →

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an article with a view (master)

Posted on February 5, 2022 by Robert

Toronto.  Over time, stereo has popped up as a fad – as photo cards in the late 1890s, as cameras in the 1950s, as movies, as TVs and in 1939 as a child’s toy called a View-Master. This wonderful toy … Continue reading →

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a camera called Iris

Posted on February 3, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. After the minicam revolution took off, some camera makers tried to ‘fake’ their products as great minicams. Univex in the States tried a number of different models and business plans (guessing this from models and ads). For the Iris … Continue reading →

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in the days before CAD

Posted on February 1, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Computer Aided Design (CAD) made huge changes in how products were manufactured.  Before CAD, photography stepped in to speed up aircraft production. This article from the February 1941 edition of Popular Mechanic explained how a giant camera and projector … Continue reading →

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light up the night

Posted on January 31, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Photography played a key roll in WW2. High flying aircraft with aerial cameras mapped the ground searching for enemy troops and armaments. A bright idea, tested over upper NY State, was the ‘light bomb’ described in this January 1941 … Continue reading →

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