Kodak Baby Brownie (1934–1941)

The Baby Brownie is a palm-sized Bakelite box camera. Kodak introduced it in July 1934 and produced it in the US until 1941. It was sold again in the UK from 1948 to 1952. It's often described as Art Deco in style. The molded Bakelite body has a clean, streamlined look that fits the era.

The camera takes 127 roll film and gets eight 4×6.5 cm (1⅝ × 2½ inch) exposures per roll. It has a simple meniscus lens and a rotary shutter fired by a lever mounted under the lens. You pop up the folding frame viewfinder, frame your shot, and slide the lever to shoot. Some export models added a "brief/time" button above the lens. A special version commemorating the 1939-40 New York World's Fair put the fair's imagery on the faceplate.

In 1938, Kodak introduced the Baby Brownie Special as an upgrade. It replaced the original's folding frame finder with an optical viewfinder. The original Baby Brownie stayed in production alongside it until 1941.

Surviving examples are common and inexpensive. Dealer listings show prices around $28 CAD and €35, and the shutter on many still works today. 127 film is still available from select outlets.