DAY 82

HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Eastman Kodak

SNAPSHOTS FOR THE MASSES

A photography enthusiast in his teens, George Eastman of Rochester, New York, employed the popular wet-plate process and later, gelatin emulsions in his work but began to experiment and eventually discovered ways to improve upon this method. In 1881, at age 24, he formed the Eastman Dry Plate Company, which became enormously successful.

Despite the success of his company, Eastman continued to look for ways to create a new type of negative that would be cheaper and easier to use than glass plates. His research and development resulted in significant practical and commercial advances in photography.

Among Eastman’s contributions were film that came on a roll of paper coated with a gelatin emulsion and celluloid based film. Then came the blockbuster: In 1888, the company tapped into the budding amateur interest in photography, introducing a small, hand-held camera called a Kodak. The camera came preloaded with enough film for 100 pictures and offered a service where, for an additional fee, it could be sent back to Eastman, the 100 pictures could be printed, mounted on a paper backing, and the camera would be reloaded with another roll of film and sent back to the customer. The advertising slogan “You press the button, we do the rest” was absolutely accurate, and, despite some technical shortcomings, amateur photography took off around the world. What is now known as the “snapshot,” an informal image of everyday life, was born. —DJG