Starting May 1, 1930, a child, accompanied by his parent, needed only present proof of age and received a new Anniversary Kodak (actually a version of the Rainbow Hawk-Eye camera), instruction manual, and a roll of Kodak film. The camera came in a specially-designed, art deco cardboard box which is quite hard to find today.

At a time when many families had been hard hit by the looming Depression, this gift was remembered for years to come. Eastman's position was simple - in giving away the cameras, he hoped to create life-long Kodak consumers, since he had always known that it was the film, rather than the cameras, that would ultimately represent the largest sales potential for the company.

Click here for the April, 1930 announcement 
of the camera giveaway

Anniversary Kodak instruction manual

Detail from instruction manual

Snapshot showing girl and her Anniversary Kodak Camera

Another snapshot showing the Anniversary Kodak