Brownie Cameras 1940-1950?

dave lackey

dave lackey

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This question was inevitable. As I am now the official curator of all our vintage family photos, I have been charged with the overwhelming task of organizing and creating Family History Photo Books. Imagine working with photos over 100 years old dating back to the 1890s...

It is a thankless task but I feel an obligation for our future family members. It is also a fascinating experience!:)

I am finding all kinds of images in different sizes, making me wonder what camera was used. Some are on post cards. Some are very small and some are very close to 2:3 format. I found several of myself dating back to 1950 and I remember a couple of black Brownie cameras.

We were lowly working class families back then and if I find time to re-size an image or two, I will post them because with little money, my parents enjoyed the annual vacation trip to Florida in the 1948 Nash, or the succeeding Chevrolets.

They worked hard, and enjoyed life in spite of World Wars, Depression/Recessions, and family tragedies.

If nothing else, my experience so far with this treasure of old images has grounded me with an appreciation of who they were and nothing can change that. They were/are my family.:):):)

I would like to identify which Brownie cameras they might have used, as I would like to purchase one to use myself. They actually performed quite well!:)
 
My Mom got a Brownie Reflex Synchro for her birthday back in the 1940's and used that for taking pictures of her girlfriends, her boyfriend (eventually my Dad), and our young family thru the 1950's. It used 127 film and made square 4x4 negatives, like the Baby Rollei.

32.jpg


Brownie Reflex Synchro

Best,
-Tim
 
There are so many possibilities for 2x3 (6x9cm) for the time period; So many types of No.2 Box Brownies and Kodak Six-20 Brownies.

And yes. Despite most Brownies having a simple meniscus lens, I've taken very nice images with them. Better than some of the post-WW2 plastic stuff.
 
If you could measure the size of the smallest prints, that could help determine the negative size. It was common back then to make contact prints from the negatives, so the resultant prints might tell us what film format was used. This would be helpful information for determining what Brownie models could have made the pictures.

Simple folding/box cameras with one or two-element lenses can definitely produce good results within their limitations. I had a Kodak Vigilant Jr. (620 format) with a simple meniscus lens, and it worked surprisingly well. A good box camera will produce an image with a reasonably sharp center, but pretty much all of them get much softer the closer you get to the corners/edges. The corners tend to get pretty blurry. I personally like the look!
 
Wow! I wish this forum had "Like" button!!!

I will measure the negs and post the results. And maybe an image or two later.

I remember playing with a black box 620!!! So that must have been the one my Dad used!

Stay tuned, I will research some more tonight.

Thanks to all!:)
 
dave lackey said:
Hmmm... I need some 620 film....:0
Click to expand...

I've always just used 120 film and re-rolled it onto 620 spools. It's a very simple process, especially if you are willing to sacrifice a film roll to get some practice.

However, you will need at least two 620 spools.

There are lots of great websites for researching Kodak Brownies and similar Kodak box cameras. Mischa Koning's "Kodak Classics" website (made up from the old website by Chris Eve) has a good list of them.

Check it out!: https://kodak.3106.net/index.php?p=217
 
I have a Hawkeye "Flash" model, which is a long-running model from the 1950s (mine was made in 1958). It has a pleasant, attractive heft to it and feels much more robust than one would think of a simple box camera. Its pretty neat.
 
My Mom, who was the family photographer, used a Hawkeye Flash, and WWII-time, a Kodak folder. Wonderful photos of the time.
There are a few Hawkeye 120's to be found, but mostly 620's. I hear you can so some "bakelite modifications" to make 120 spools fit a 620 model. Has anyone here done that?
 
davidnewtonguitars said:
My Mom, who was the family photographer, used a Hawkeye Flash, and WWII-time, a Kodak folder. Wonderful photos of the time.
There are a few Hawkeye 120's to be found, but mostly 620's. I hear you can so some "bakelite modifications" to make 120 spools fit a 620 model. Has anyone here done that?
Click to expand...

I used some Brownies in late 40's when I am guessing that was all my father would trust me with. I thought I was hot stuff. :D

I think most people these days prefer to modify a used 120 roll by somehow trimming the outer portion of the 120 rim. I've never done it but google should be a help. Or as already suggested, two 620 rolls and re-spool 120 onto the feed side. I have read of the working. I don't recall how; again google.

Good luck and have fun.
 
The time honored tradition for home photo archiving is to pile all the photos into the bottom drawer of a bedroom dresser and forget about them. I'm not kidding. Everyone I've talked to has found treasure troves of stuff that way, and other than a few photos sticking together all the pics were fine. Go figure. My mom kept ours this way for at least 30 years. Many of the film formats from the past didn't survive, so you see prints w/ unusual aspect ratios.

Rerolling 620 to a 120 spool is easy one you get the hang of it, but there are so many 120 cameras out there, box and otherwise, I would just look for one of those. The lenses can make great photos, but the viewfinders are the weak point, along w/ figuring a way to carry them. I wouldn't trust an old camera strap. Because of the downsides, I usually went to one of the fake TLR box cameras like the Kodak, Argolflex or Voigtlander Brillant. Some of these old cameras can take both 120 and 620. There's always nail clippers to take the edge off a plastic 120 spool too.
 
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