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Hello,
You may say I kind of like old cameras. Yeah, that would be an understatement.
No surprise my favorite cameras are Asahi and Pentax. But I also have a soft spot for Kodak cameras, especially vintage stuff.
Sometimes I see items on eBay with a starting bid of $1 and I bid maybe $1 or $2 and forget about it. A week later, I get a notification I won the item. Not very common but it happens.
That was the case on this. Won the auction for $1 (plus $8 for shipping
)
The description simply said
vintage Kodak 2A Brownie camera and your average typical dining table pictures.
Well, it happens to be a No.2A Brownie Model B, with metal nameplate and no shutter guard. That makes it a 1918-1919 camera! (nameplate was added in 1918, shutter guard in 1920). That's a 102 years old! (at the moment I post this in 2021) Made with wood and cardboard parts as well as metal.
Looks dirty but complete.
So far so good. However...
When I opened it, I was surprised!
What seems to be the original booklet was inside! I'm sure the seller was not even aware.
June 1918! That is a 103 years old booklet!
The free subscription for the magazine says 30 days after purchase. I wonder if it can still be honored...
The booklet not only contains camera use instructions, but also development and printing! With plenty of details!
Less surprisingly, there was also an original 116 film spool inside
Many people make the mistake of incorrectly dating items from the patent date. The patent is from 1916. So you know it was made after that, but many items keep a patent date while still been in production for years.
So, it is in queue for a cleanup job. I have seen adapters to run or respool 120 film in 116 spools. When the time comes, I may try that. Would be nice to shoot with a 102+ years old camera...
What do you think?
Thanks,
Ismael