125 years on

We take cameras for granted these days; almost everyone has one, even if it is just part of a mobile phone.

Things were very different though before 1889. If you wanted a photograph in those days, you went to a studio and visited a professional.

It all began to change in 1889 when Kodak introduced the No 1 camera which actually followed their first one which was simply called Kodak.

The wooden box , which was covered in leather, housed a roll of film that would produce 100 pictures. The camera sold for $25 which was quite expensive for the time. 

To set the shutter you pulled a string and then pressed a button on the side to release it. It had one speed, one aperture setting and a fixed focus lens. There was no viewfinder to compose with, so your best bet was to point it roughly towards your subject and hope for the best. If the light was right and the subject was beyond the minimum distance, then you got a good result. If your pictures came out well composed, that was a bonus.

Once you’d taken your 100 pictures, you sent the camera back to Kodak who developed the film and returned your 100 2.5 inch circular pictures along with the camera loaded again for the next 100 shots.