I’ve been taking photos for 50 years and counting but there’s always something new to learn. And something new to have. Until now, I’ve never owned a camera that was made in England, let alone an original Kodak Brownie 127, not least because it was discontinued the year I was born. And yet in its seven-year lifespan up to 1959, no less than 263,000 of these hugely popular plastic cameras were exported to the USA. I do remember seeing later models being sold in a shop in Cornwall, on childhood holidays, with a warning to ‘Beware of cheap imitations, this one melted in the sun’, a blob of an ex-camera taking pride of place on a storefront shelf.
The Brownie itself is a wonderful bit or retro kitsch, but the thing that’s almost priceless is the original pamphlet that came with it – all you need to know about photography on a double-sided sheet of folded paper. It’s entitled ‘How to get the best out of your Brownie 127 Camera with DAKON lens’, and is packed with top tips.
