This No.3 Folding Pocket Kodak E2 is a development of earlier models introduced in 1900 identified by their boxed in leather shutter mechanisms, the E model arrived from 1904. The format is the same as quarter plate at 4.25 x 3.25" but with the convenience of 118 roll film. Construction consists of a wooden shell formed from routed sides attached to a folded aluminium tray forming the film chambers and half rounded ends, the back hatch forms the closure and completes the rounded ends. The aluminium front hatch doubles at the lens bed to draw out the lens standard along a nickel plated brass rail. Earliest ones have Bausche and Lombe mechanically governed shutters, later ones switching to Kodak Ball Bearing shutters available after 1909. The model number is usually to be found stamped on the inside of the hatch, above the patent numbers. Patent numbers aren't normally a good indicator of age as it takes a while for them to be accepted, However, at this early juncture the pace of change was such that patent numbers were being rapidly created. The latest patent number in the back of this FPK is 1902 with others applied for, the E-2 was introduced in 1904, the next patent relating to the FPKs was in 1906, so a date of 1904-5 ish would seem appropriate, Red bellows went out of fashion around 1910 and Kodak had switched to black across the range by the end of 1912. The camera features rise and fall as well as cross movements, a four position preset focus mechanism and a multi-position leg for use when setting the camera down in landscape format. Kodak elected to use a reasonable lens for the time, the Rapid Rectilinear, manufactured by Bausch and Lombe. This lens is a symetrical doublet employing cemented achromatic combinations for an aperture of f/8, but requires stopping down to minimize astigmatism. These early Kodaks use the 1880s Universal System (U.S.) of aperture marking which differs from the now familiar f numbers. The following is the U.S system with the nearest f equivalent in brackets: 4(f/8), 8(f/11), 16 (f/16), 32(f/22), 64(f/32) and 128(f/44). The No.3 FPK evolved into the No. 3 Autographic Kodak.

These attractive early Kodaks are plentiful and cheap, this particular example was purchased for the collection in 2016 for £30.

Body No. 33838-E
Shutter, Bausche and Lombe, T, B, I, badged as Kodak Automatic
Lens, Bausche and Lombe, 14cm Rapid Rectilinear f/8 (U.S. 4)
Condition, 5F

View other larger format folding cameras in this collection.