No 1A Gift Kodak

Eastman Kodak Company

Name:	No 1A Gift Kodak
Manufacturer:	Eastman Kodak Co.
Country of Origin:	USA
Construction:	A special version of the No 1A Pocket Kodak Junior carrying a distinctive geometric design to the faceplate around the lens, the baseplate and held in a cedar box which carries the same design on its lid. The original cardboard packaging also repeated the same design motif. The No 1A Gift Kodak is another example of a camera styled by Walter Dorwin Teague for Eastman Kodak.
Production Period:	1930 - 31

 

Plate / Film Size:	116 rollfilm
Lens:	Meniscus achromatic
Shutter:	Kodo No 1
Movements:	None
Dimensions (w x h x l):
Date of this Example:
Serial Number:	None
Availability:	Common  Uncommon  Hard to Find  Scarce
Inventory Number:	424

<Photographs to be added>

Description

The No 1A Gift Kodak is a special version of the No 1A Pocket Kodak Junior covered in brown leather, with brown bellows and Art Deco motif on baseplate and shutter plate. The camera came complete with its matching cedar wood box. Only 10,000 were made according to Coe.

This example of the No 1A Gift Kodak is in very good condition. The baseplate and shutter plate are both in very good condition with no significant marks or damage. The leather is sound and free from damage and scuffs. The bellows are original and intact, but stiff after being folded for so long. Best to ease them out from the back when opening the camera because of the power in the self-erecting mechanism.

The cedar box has a split on one corner that is about 2" long and a sliver of wood missing on one corner edge, but doesn't prevent it being used as a good quality display item. The motif on the lid is in very good condition, with only very minor dings on the surface. The base of the box is in good order, but again has a hair-line crack across one end face.

Notes

The Baby Brownie is but one of a number of significant cameras that were styled by Walter Dorwin Teague. You might also want to look at the Beau Brownies, the Vanity Kodak, the Kodak Petite and to my mind the best of them all, the Kodak Bantam Special.