No 1A Autographic Kodak Special

Eastman Kodak Company

Name:	No 1A Autographic Kodak Special
Manufacturer:	Eastman Kodak Co.
Country of Origin:	USA
Construction:	Coupled range finder version of the No 1A Autographic Kodak Special camera. Two models of slightly different design.
Plate / Film Size:	A116 rollfilm (2½" x 4¼")
Movements:	Rising front (lever actuated)
Dimensions (w x h x l):
Availability:	Common  Uncommon  Hard to Find  Scarce
Production Period:	1917 - 1926

 

Variant / Model:	Early model with bakelite side panels
Lens:	Kodak Anastigmat f6.3
Shutter:	Kodamatic
Date of this Example:	c1922
Serial Number:	Carries suppliers round enamel badge on rh side panel (from front), "Andrew J. Lloyd Company, Boston and Cambridge".
Inventory Number:	61

<Photographs to be added>

Description

No 1A Autographic Kodak Special with CRF (coupled rangefinder). According to McKeown (Kodak Cameras), the Kodak anastigamt lens / Kodamatic shutter combination was used from 1921 to 1926. The latest patent date inside the back is 1918. The bakelite side panels were withdrawn in 1923 and the format changed to one with an overlapping back, similar to the No 2C Autographic Kodak Special.

There is some bubbling to the leather finish on this example, and the bellows have pin-holes at the corners.

Original leather case, impressed with name of camera above the catch, which carries the EKC emblem. Pattern of leather case matches that of the camera itself.

Notes

The surface bubbling noted above is quite common on leather covered cameras with metal bodies. It may be due to the glue hardening or, more likely, due to corrosion setting in on the tops of screws used in the fabrication of the bodywork. It can sometimes form quite hard round lumps under the leather that force it to swell.