Take a Kodak With You

It seems a distant memory now, but for most of the twentieth century, Kodak dominated the amateur photography market in North America. The cameras, the film, the very culture of snapshooting--Kodak. And they worked very hard at it. As well as their products, they put out a variety of publications, aimed variously at snapshooters (Kodakery), professional photographers (Studio Light), dealers of Kodak products (Kodak Salesman, Kodak Dealer News), and photo-finishers (aptly, The Photo Finisher). These periodicals are fascinating insights into the various approaches Kodak took to their market, and it is my hope to study them properly one day, in my professional capacity. On top of that, they're a lot of fun. I spent many many hours going through them for my master's thesis (now online!) and often got distracted by pictures and articles having nothing to do with my topic of study. Kodak was constantly coming up with new angles for selling--new campaigns, new displays, new themes--always copiously illustrated, of course. They also frequently highlighted ideas and displays from Kodak dealers themselves.... bringing us, finally, to this actual post. 

The following images come from Kodak's periodical for dealers of their products, Kodak Salesman, which regularly sought out and reproduced creative window displays from their sellers. These come from the early 1920s, and many tie in to Kodak's main ad campaign at the time, expressed by the slogans "take a Kodak with you" and "Kodak as you go." This was a period when Kodak was actively encouraging people to record all their activities on film (something we've taken for granted ever since). Others focus on eye-catching composition. 

I must admit these images are not the highest quality. They come from the Flickr collection of the Internet Archive, which consists of images automatically excerpted from the many books on the Internet Archive's site. The digitization of books is done differently than that of images specifically, resulting in a lower resolution and higher contrast. The images in the original periodical are already half-tone photographic reproductions. So, these don't exactly look terrific. However, I feel the original striking designs and creativity shine through nonetheless!

The issues of the Kodak Salesman from which these come are held by the Special Collections at Ryerson University, my alma mater. The Internet Archive holds the complete runs of several years of the periodical, as well as many years of Kodakery and Studio Light. 

Internet Archive Book Images/Ryerson University Special Collections

August 1921. Source 

Internet Archive Book Images/Ryerson University Special Collections

Illustrating the motto, "Kodak on Land and Sea." The model ship, apparently, was valued at $500. October 1920. Source

Internet Archive Book Images/Ryerson University Special Collections

January, 1921. Source

Sincerely Yours

We're all familiar with the interest in getting the autographs of famous people on their photos... as far as I know people still do it, even in the digital age. However, how many of us have signed photos of our friends? Signing photos for friends and family used to be fairly common, especially when parting ways with people you might not see again for a while (there are lots from fellows who met in the service!). It's such a lovely personal touch.... I think I might do some for my far away friends!

"To my friend, Lou Gordon," from a fellow whose signature I can't decipher, 1920s. Source

Australian National Maritime Museum

"Yours Truly, Fred Ward," ca. 1915. Source

Australian National Maritime Museum

"All best wishes from an old friend/ Jack Kirkwood," 1917. Source

Amateur Tinting

We've looked at hand-tinting before, in nineteenth century Japanese albumen prints as well as portraits of the Civil War. There's a lot of exquisite portrait tinting (and some pretty awful stuff too), but colouring of monochrome prints went even more popular than that. For the sixty or so years between the invention of snapshots and the rise of colour snapshots, loads of people went out, bought paints specifically designed for colouring prints, and added their own colour. These can range from garish and tacky to really very nice, depending on the person and their skill and care (I have to admit, I live the garish tacky ones just as much as the nice ones).

Unfortunately most institutions with online collections don't have a lot of snapshots, and/or don't upload the coloured ones much. At the moment I'm working at a photographic collection with heaps of snapshots and heaps of tacky coloured ones... but they aren't available for sharing. So, while this mix is wonderful, I've expanded the definition of "snapshot". Many of these are in fact coloured lantern slides (glass precursors to film slides) from the visual teaching collections at Oregon State University (though I don't know what they would have used most of them to illustrate), but they capture the aesthetic I'm looking for. Many thanks to the wonderful people at OSU, who share my tastes! (their collection on the Flickr Commons is pretty great all around, really).

Oregon State University

ca. 1910. Source

Oregon State University

Along Crater Lake. Source

Oregon State University

Garden, ca. 1930. Source

A sixteen-year old girl's photo album, 1947, Part Four

The last installment of this 1947 photo album. I hope you've enjoyed it!

A sixteen-year old girl's photo album, 1947, Part Three

The next section of this 1947 photo album.

Some of the pages in this section are blank; I've reproduced them anyway for an accurate representation of the layout. I believe some of them once held pictures that have fallen out, as I have several in the same format, with the same people, same captions, and same bits of tape at the top. As albums are just as interesting for their creator's choice of layout as for the pictures, I have not attempted to put these back in, not knowing where they went. Most of them are pictures of Nancy and Barbara and their parents. 

A sixteen-year old girl's photo album, 1947, Part Two

Pictures of pets and days at camp in part two of this 1947 photo album:

A sixteen-year old girl's photo album, 1947

As promised, the first installment of a photo album newly digitized (by me). My grandmother made this in 1947, when she was sixteen. It's her choice of snapshots about her life, taped into a loosely bound album of 28 black pages. Most of the photos are captioned on the reverse. For sharing I've photographed each page in its entirety, then each individual photo and its caption. I'll do about six pages a post (a couple are blank) for the next three posts (hopefully equating to the next three days--I'll try!).

The album's creator is Nancy Gallagher, sometimes also captioned "Nan" (she captions herself in third person, for the ages). Her sister is Barbara. I don't know who any of the other named people are and unfortunately I never had the chance to ask. The family lived in St. Paul, Minnesota, though they also clearly took a trip to California at some point.

I love personal photo albums-- the way people structure the narrative of their lives is absolutely fascinating. I hope you think so too!

The Start of Snapshots

In 1888 the first Kodak camera came out, allowing anyone (who could afford the initially high price) to take their own photographs, regardless of skill. The camera came pre-loaded with film, and after exposure you sent it to Eastman Kodak in Rochester. They sent you the camera back, re-loaded, along with your prints. All you had to do was press the button. The world of photography would never be the same.

Snapshots from the Kodak Number One and Number Two, 1888-1890. Those from the Library of Congress (taken in Washington DC) are all by Uriah Hunt Painter, an avid snapshooter. The original photographs aren't black and white, they're the same dark purple-brown and cream as the ones from the National Media Museum (gold-toned gelatin printing-out paper); they were photographed in black and white for reproduction.

Library of Congress

A man and boy in front of the treasury, Washington DC. Source

National Media Museum

Children wading in the sea. Source

Library of Congress

A little girl in riding clothes, Washington DC. Source

More Silliness of Former Days

A lot of the photographs we see from the past are certain kinds of photographs -- portraits, or documentary, or captures of important events, often done by professional photographers. These are just the kinds of photographs that end up in museums and archives. Of course, cameras have been popular among the public for all this time, too-- there are probably millions of snapshots that aren't collected anywhere. Luckily, there are some who gather these snapshots and share them online....and oh, the finds! People have always been silly and weird with their friends, but it's quite rare to see these kinds of pics in museum collections (though I've a few in my first Silliness post). In personal snapshots, however, we see all sorts of weirdness. Todays' photos come from the remarkable collection of Flickr user unexpectedtales, particularly a collection made up entirely of Peculiar Snapshots. There are loads of wonders to be found there, from the ridiculous to the adorable, and I do highly recommended everyone to have a look for themselves! 

The photographs are reproduced with the kind permission of unexpectedtales. 

unexpectedtales

People have been doing this for a long time. Source

unexpectedtales

I have no idea. Source

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Then, this. Source

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Oh, yes. Attaching scissors to your nose. Good times. Source

unexpectedtales

Kissing blindfolded, as one does. Source

unexpectedtales

People have also hated having their pictures taken for a long time. Source

unexpectedtales

Good old-fashioned piano playing with doily on head. Source

unexpectedtales

Just like your family game nights. Source

unexpectedtales

Men have always had to hold their wife's purses, and felt weird about it. Source

unexpectedtales

As it is so aptly titled, 'Smack'. Source

unexpectedtales

Fun in World War One. Source

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Ladies with a giant (plastic) ice cream. Source

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Partying. Or something. Source

unexpectedtales

Dancing. I think they're pretty smashed at this point. Source