BoxCameras.com - Eastman Company No. 2 Kodak Camera, 1889-1897

Building on the success of the (original) Kodak Camera of 1888, George Eastman released a new Kodak model in 1889. The No. 2 Kodak took a larger (3½ inches circular) negative than the original Kodak, and also sported a viewfinder. The original Kodak simply had lines scored in the leather exterior to approximate the field of view.

In October 1889, when the No. 2 became available, the original Kodak was re-designated the No. 1 Kodak. The new Kodak also had a new price: $32.50 as compared to $25.00 for the original Kodak. Like the original Kodak, however, the film still had to be loaded in a darkroom, so most people chose to send their Kodaks back to the Eastman plant in Rochester, N.Y., for developing, printing, and reloading.

The No. 2 Kodak is known to collectors and historians as a 'string-set shutter' model. The round brass button on the top right of the camera (above) is attached to a string - usually a piece of catgut, as supplied from the Kodak factory. In the photo on the right, you can see the green string coming down from the brass button. Chances are that this is a replacement string, but one that was replaced long ago.

To make an exposure, it was necessary to pull the brass button up until the string cocked the shutter. In modern cameras, film advance and shutter cocking usually happen simultaneously.

On the Kodaks of the late-1880s and 1890s, it was necessary both to cock the shutter and advance the film in two separate motions. Compared to glass plate photography, however, the Kodaks' usage was simplicity itself.

No. 2 Kodak open, showing rollfilm holder and circular mask for 3.5" round images