Tag Archives: ad

take ’em … make ’em

Posted on November 27, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Smartphone users likely never bothered with film, photo paper, gooey darkroom stuff, etc. But at one time it was the only way to take and make photos. For the frugal amongst us back then, photographic manufacturers from time to … Continue reading →

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where the big boys are

Posted on November 24, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Post war serious photographers migrated to the 2-1/4 inch format on 120 roll film. Instead of 120, Kodak had a proprietary 620 version. The short lived Chevron (1953-1956) was Kodak’s high end camera replacing the massive Medalist which was … Continue reading →

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brother, can you spare $2.98 US?

Posted on October 24, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Post WW2, any miniature camera was usually called a ‘spy’ camera. Many American marketing companies brought in finished cameras from Occupied Japan and flogged them State-side. Usually the cameras were claimed to be ‘precision’ or ‘precision-made’ although most were … Continue reading →

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catch the wave II

Posted on October 22, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. A recent post, “catch the wave“, spoke of Kodak’s technique to ‘monetize’ the latest popularity of stereo in the 1950s. A brief (very brief) competitor emerged in 1955 – the Delta Stereo by Lennor Engineering Co in Illinois. The … Continue reading →

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catch the wave

Posted on October 18, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. As mentioned many posts back, stereo has a surge in popularity about once every half century as new technology improves the images. In the 1950s another surge hit with toys, cameras, books, articles, movies, slides, colour, viewers, and projectors … Continue reading →

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a tale of two ads

Posted on June 6, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. That persistent seeker of photo history, George Dunbar, spotted these ads by Kodak while browsing issues of Popular Science. George thought it interesting that Kodak chose to feature a young lady carrying an autographic Kodak camera in its January … Continue reading →

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do you remember Kodachrome?

Posted on May 22, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. From the late 1800s to pre WW2, colour was a huge challenge. The additive colour process was very slow. Mosaics and fine screens were used to record and display colour photographs. Colour photography was revolutionized in 1935 when Kodachrome … Continue reading →

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what’s in a name?

Posted on May 18, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. A brand name denotes the style and quality of a company’s products. Post war, an American foundation was incorporated to promote national or international names over small local firms. The foundation was called, “Brand Names Foundation, Inc.” and was … Continue reading →

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90 ways to leave your job

Posted on May 12, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Some years ago one of our founders, Larry Boccioletti, spent a miserable year in NYC as the hired head of a mail order photography programme. Larry said in all the time in Manhattan, he worked such long hours, and … Continue reading →

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squaring the circle

Posted on April 28, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. When collectors think of TLR design, they usually think ‘Rollei’. Other firms also made cameras in the TLR design. Most of these cameras seem to follow Rollei in general layout and style. To hop on the minicam bandwagon, the … Continue reading →

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