Mick-A-Matic circa 1971
Toronto. A few weeks ago John Linsky lent me two cameras and two books. The idea of making cameras for children began in the early days of the 20th century when Kodak introduced the Browne line in 1900, packed in boxes complete with cartoon figures of the famous Brownies designed by Canadian Palmer Cox from Granby, Quebec.
This camera was unique in that it was shaped like the head of the cartoon character it represented – Walt Disney’s famous little mouse. It is the size of a child’s head. Produced for the Child Guidance Products Inc. in the USA (back when such whimsical items weren’t made in the far east), the camera uses a cube flash and a 126 film cartridge. The lens is in the nose and the viewfinder is in the toy mouse’s forehead, just below the flash socket. Gently pulling up the right ear (original) or pressing a lever down (between the right ear and right eye) snapped the photo.
