Kodak Cameras in Collection
 1936-48 Bantam Special |
 1938-49 Bantam |
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 1946-52 Brownie Target Six - 20 |
 1965-69 Motormatic 35F |
George Eastman and his Eastman Dry Plate & Film Company introduced its first camera, "The Kodak", in 1888. It was a simple box camera that was advertised with the slogan "you press the button and we do the rest". Kodak has made cameras for virtually every film size there is (or was). Box cameras, Bakelite cameras, folders, A Leica copy, Art Deco styled (Bantam Special among others), vest pocket, instamatic, you name it, they made one. In 1932 George Eastman bought Nagel Camera-Werke in Stuttgart, Germany and the Kodak Retina was introduced in 1934. The Nagel Kodaks, which include the Retinas, were of high quality and are the subject of separate pages on this website. The name "Kodak" was an invented name of which George Eastman said "I devised the name myself. The letter "K" had been a favorite with me -- it seems a strong, incisive sort of letter. It became a question of trying out a great number of combinations of letters that made words starting and ending with 'K'. The word 'Kodak' is the result" . Today, Kodak holds a commanding place in the world of photography and continues to make cameras.