Pixiq

Eastman Dry Plate & Film Company, Rochester, New York

With the introduction of the larger No. 2 Kodak in late 1889, a revision of the original model was retroactively named the No. 1 Kodak. Its major modification was the replacement of the complex barrel shutter with a simpler, less expensive sector shutter, along with minor hardware changes associated with the new shutter. Late in 1889, Eastman’s Transparent film (nitrate) was introduced; all new Kodak camera models (No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 3 Jr., No. 4, No. 4 Jr.) from now on were shipped with this, replacing Eastman’s American film (paper­backed stripping film), which was more cumbersome to process. In the company’s 1890 catalog, the No. 1 was described as “the original Kodak and it will always continue to be the Note Book of Photography.” It remained factory­loaded with one hundred exposures, 2­ inches in diameter, and priced at $25. In total, about 10,000 No. 1 Kodak cameras were produced.