Kodak No 4A Folding Camera.
Eastman Kodak Co
Category
Photographic technology
Date
1906 - 1915
Materials
Metal, Wood, Glass, Leather
Measurements
280 x 165 x 68 mm
Place of origin
Rochester
Collection
Fox Talbot Museum, Wiltshire
NT 1525674.1
Summary
Kodak No 4A Folding Camera. Large portable folding camera for 126 rollfilm, film was made from 1906 – 1949. Black bellows so the camera was made after 1912. The No. 4A Folding Kodak was Kodak's largest conventional-style rollfilm camera. Introduced in 1906 it made six 4¼ x 6½-inch exposures on No.126 rollfilm. The first model has a wooden front standard; later models (from 1907) have a metal front. An accessory back was available for exposures onto plates. The camera was sold with a number of lens / shutter combinations. The 4A could be used as a simple snapshooting camera, but also as an instrument for the more advanced amateur. The lensboard can be moved sideways and up and down. If used as a plate camera the effect can be judged on the ground glass. http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/No._4A_Folding_Kodak http://www.kodaksefke.nl/4a-folding-kodak.html The camera is metal and covered with a leather material and there is a handle. There are a number of metal screws/knobs around the case. To open the camera there is a catch, the same catch that it sits on to keep it upright, this has the word KODAK, the catch is pulled back and the camera is opened and remains in play with 2 catches either side that locked in place. When the camera is set up as operational it sits on a catch to keep it upright. There are black bellows and at the front around the lens are the words – Series III, COOKE, ANASTIGMAT, LENS No 69799, f/6.5, 8.5inch. Above the lens there is a silver dial with a black frontage with the words – EASTMAN KODAK Co, AUTOMATIC and the numbers 1, 2, 25, 50, 100, B, T. Beneath the lens is a wooden plate with the words – To remove block, elevate front – return to centre – safe guard for shipping only. Underneath the wooden block is a silver plate with the words – EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY, ROCHESTER, N.Y., U.S.A. On the wooden slide panel (underneath the bellows) is a black plate with gold writing are numbers in Feet and Metres. The handles to slide the camera into/out of operational mode are placed here. To open the back of the case to insert the rollfilm, there are 2 metal catches either side that need to be pressed to remove the back. Inside is a wooden roller and this is activated by using the metal attachment on the outside of the camera. Writing on the back of the inside case – LICENSED FOR USE ONLY WITH EASTMAN AUTOGRAPHIC FILM, PATENT APPLIED FOR. No 4 A FOLDING KODAK, MANUFACTURED BY EASTMAN KODAK CO. ROCHESTER N.Y. MADE IN U.S.A. U.S. PATENTS JUNES 21 1898 SEP 20 1898 JAN 21 1902 APR 29 1902 JULY 8 1902 APR 6 1909 SEP 7 1909 OCT 19 1909 JUNE 16 1914 OTHER PATENTS PENDING
Provenance
Donated to the Fox Talbot Museum by Clive Baker.
Makers and roles
Eastman Kodak Co , manufacturer