Tuesday, January 29, 2013

The Autograph Box








I picked this camera up at the same sale as the Praktica. This is the one that caught my eye when I saw all the cameras that would be sold. Of course the views they showed of the camera didn't show all the graffiti.  I bought it as a tray lot of 4 or 5 cameras for 7 dollars. I see them on eBay for 30 bucks but they're not in this good shape. Nor are they autographed. Research tells me that this is a copy of an old Kodak No. 2 Hawk-eye (Model C). They built a half million of them in 1930 and gave them away to any 12 year old whose parents brought them to their local Kodak dealer. It came pre-loaded with film. This one was used for autographs. There's Mildred (it was either her camera or she was THE queen) Jack, Benn, Dan, George, Penny and R.M.M. on the left side Babe, John B., Berks, Peggy and James on the back. The right side is Ruth Ann, Jimmy and Happy. The front is Jaci (or Jack) and Milly (Mildred, again?) Bernard and some unknowns signed the top. And Deb, Berman and others tagged the bottom. Friends? Classmates? Just one of those things we will never know. 

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