Even before the first 19th century cameras were produced, wood was used for their predecessor, the camera obscura, to keep the interior completely dark. Early antique wood cameras (also incorporating brass and leather elements) are principally box models, but even include read cameras plus American red bellows folding (self-casing) cameras. Collectible manufacturer names come with Kodak, American Optical, Blair, plus Scovill, among others. Wood gave way to handheld cameras in the 1920s. Find out more about antique cameras here. 

Collectors hunt out not purely the cameras but their accessories plus actual plates plus pictures taken with them. Some antique wood cameras can be historically important, as there were a whole lot of innovative prototype cameras being developed during this period. Also, several wood cameras are delicate or fragile and must be displayed fastidiously plus kept of the direct sunlight. Finally, don’t polish the brass – collectors prefer the tarnish! 

Nearly all camera collectors are familiar with that the arrival of 35mm technology was rampant with radical new designs plus novel approaches to miniaturization. The earliest successful attempts at bringing the convenience of 35mm cine film to the still camera market in 1913, specifically the Tourist Multiple in America and the Jules Richard Homeos in France, each exemplified the prime quality and mechanical ingenuity, as well as the correspondingly high costs, which manufacturers strived to attain. Equally complex cameras would soon follow, but by the late 1920’s the Leica established a benchmark for 35mm design, the early 1930’s saw the Contax reinforce that concept, and then in 1934 Eastman Kodak leveled the enjoying field after they introduced the Retina plus a standardized daylight loading cartridge for all 35mm cameras to use. 

Meanwhile, despite the traditional historical connection with marvels of mechanical progress, there were alternative cameras from this time of 35mm evolution that popularized the new medium without the necessity for cutting edge technology or lofty price tags. Their names are mostly forgotten when the conversation turns to the formative days of 35mm photography, but they were already stabilizing the “minicam” market while therefore many others were still in the dark.