Somehow Swan and I got into a correspondence about old cameras. I wrote:
When I was a kid of about 11 I begged and wheedled my parents for a camera. For Christmas I got an Ansco box camera. It was black and clunky, about the size of a modern PC speaker. It had a film winder (620 film?) and one control, a sliding-arm shutter you had to depress two inches to take the picture. It was embarrassing, though it took pretty good pictures in strong sunlight. Despite my best “upgrade now please” pleas over the next 6 years, it was the only camera I ever got.
I spent some time looking for reasonable-match photos of these basic old vintage cameras. It turns out both Ansco and Kodak produced tons of similar-looking camera models from the 1920’s to 1950’s, including a lot of different Brownies.
I found a couple of photos online that seem a fair match to my distant memories of the 1950’s. The particular Ansco model depicted in the image below shows a shutter button. I remember a sliding lever shutter, but after more than 50 years I could be wrong …
For sale on Etsy.com. Seller commented "This is a wonderful pinhole camera! Made in 1953 by Ansco of Binghamton, New York. Produces 6x9 prints, has a Meniscus lens and optical view finder." Click image to link to source.
My narrative continues: The next Christmas my younger brother got a camera too. It was a Kodak Brownie and it was SO cool. Half the size, good looking, and it took better pictures! I was always jealous. Continue reading →
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Forwarding the 35mm camera instructions linked to the left, Dave writes: “Found in the box with a camera we got for attending a time-share presentation years ago. The middle paragraph sums up nicely the key elements of fine photography.”