Photography in 1926 Style
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I am embarking on the Mystery Mountain Expedition with Canadian EH Society which will re-create the explorations of Don and Phyllis Munday starting in 1926. As I am representing Phyllis Munday, wearing clothing and gear as they had in 1926, I will also sport a camera of the same period.
My intention is to develop artwork that reflects the the people and the landscapes of the expedition. I'm interested in influenced by the Pictorialist movement of the early 1900’s. Pictorialism is a photographic approach focused on the beauty of subject matter and the perfection of composition rather than the documentation of the world as it is. Photography has had a long history and the early Pictorialists used experimental methods in capturing and printing the image to truly make a handmade piece of art. |
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The Raw Materials
One Antique Camera
Where does one start to look for a camera made in the 1920's? I began my search and soon found myself bidding on a camera found on ebay. I took a chance not knowing whether the camera was in working condition or could be restored. It looked good and a few rudimentary questions revealed the seller didn't have too much of it's history.
This particular camera had been in storage for decades and was acquired at an estate sale in Mequon, Wisconsin over 10 years ago. It included a purchase receipt from 1921 where it was originally bought in St. Louis Missouri for $11 with four rolls of film for another $1. Can't beat those prices.
The photos below show the camera as I received it. Looks fairly good with no obvious problems. Let's continue on to see inside.
This particular camera had been in storage for decades and was acquired at an estate sale in Mequon, Wisconsin over 10 years ago. It included a purchase receipt from 1921 where it was originally bought in St. Louis Missouri for $11 with four rolls of film for another $1. Can't beat those prices.
The photos below show the camera as I received it. Looks fairly good with no obvious problems. Let's continue on to see inside.
Kodak No. 2 Autographic Camera
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Original purchase receipt from 1921
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Front view in closed position
Rear view of Kodak No. 2
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The Restoration
Over the course of a few weeks and carefully researching the best methods to restore the fragile elements of this camera, I found myself absorbed in the details. I was thankful that it only took four tiny screws to take the camera apart. What seemed to take a bit longer was finding some of the cleaning supplies. Pure Ammonia is not as widely available as you may have thought.
Camera and lens disassembled
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Cleaning fungus off the lens
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Getting ready to repair the bellows
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Read more about the restoration story on my blog
The Roll of Film
I picked up a new roll of 120 film. I learned that film came in a variety of sizes. Of the various film sizes that Kodak came out with only a few remain in production today. Twice as wide as the regular 35mm film format, the 120 size film measures 62mm and can still be bought today.
As a bonus my 1921 Kodak came with an exposed roll of Verichrome film in it. What a treat and surprise. Kodak Verichrome film was manufactured between 1931-1956. Kodak Verichrome Pan film, a panchromatic film, replaced Kodak Verichrome film, which was orthochromatic. Orthochromatic films were not as sensitive to red light and could be processed with a red safe light whereas the later panchromatic was sensitive to all wavelengths of light. All modern films are panchromatic films and see the scene most like our own eyes see.
As a bonus my 1921 Kodak came with an exposed roll of Verichrome film in it. What a treat and surprise. Kodak Verichrome film was manufactured between 1931-1956. Kodak Verichrome Pan film, a panchromatic film, replaced Kodak Verichrome film, which was orthochromatic. Orthochromatic films were not as sensitive to red light and could be processed with a red safe light whereas the later panchromatic was sensitive to all wavelengths of light. All modern films are panchromatic films and see the scene most like our own eyes see.
Kodak Verichrome film
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Exposed roll protected by red backing paper.
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