Thinking of a Kodak

'If only I had thought of a Kodak! I could have flashed that glimpse of the Underworld in a second, and examined it at leisure.' The Time Machine Ch.6.

Pocket Kodak, 1895

Wells' Time Traveller quite rightly laments the fact that he didn't set off into the distant future with proper kit. He's a bit like one of those idiots who goes climbing in the Cairngorms in December equipped with some trainers, jeans, and a packet of Quavers. Oh, and a mobile phone so he can call mountain rescue people to come and risk their lives on his behalf. The Time Traveller can't call anyone, though, so just has to stumble through the tunnels of the Morlocks with a box of matches and some Victorian audacity.


Anyway, such is the nature of time (a dimension of space, apparently) that the Kodak will soon be no more. Or   at least, it will be a thing of museums and private collections, and of course film and TV prop departments. Because anyone making historical drama that involves photography will have to pay due tribute to the hand-held stills camera. 


Kodak became synonymous with photography, particularly the amateur kind, in the Sixties and Seventies. I suppose it's a fairly obvious fact that, as soon as a firm achieves near-total market dominance, it tends to get a bit lazy and ignore innovation. 


My favourite Kodak fact? The word was invented so as to create a distinctive brand name that couldn't possibly be mispronounced. Other facts here.


Kodak also went to the moon with Apollo 11. The stereo close-up camera, seen below in the foreground, had a special handle so astronauts could operate it despite wearing clumsy spacesuit gloves.

'Buzz, did you remember the camera?'