Kodak No. 2 Folding Camera (c. 1904–1915)
The Kodak No. 2 Folding Camera is a folding roll-film camera made by Eastman Kodak in Rochester, New York. It is most often documented under the fuller names No. 2 Folding Pocket Brownie and No. 2 Folding Brownie. The Science Museum Group dates the No. 2 Folding Pocket Brownie to 1907-1915, though other sources place the Folding Brownie's introduction earlier, around 1904. One listing gives "c. 1909." The record is muddled on the exact start date, and the various "No. 2" designations Kodak used across its folding Brownie line don't help.
The basic design is reasonably well established. The camera shoots 120 roll film in the 6×9 cm format (2¼ × 3¼ inches). That sets it apart from the nearly identical No. 2A, which takes 116 film. The body is a rectangular, leatherette-covered wooden box that folds closed to about 1.5 inches thick, with a reflecting rotating finder mounted on the baseboard. The lens is a meniscus achromat with three aperture settings, paired with a Brownie Automatic shutter offering instantaneous, bulb, and time exposures on a three-point bayonet mount. Focusing is by sliding the lens board, with a preset stop. The original No. 2 Folding Brownie had a wooden lens board and a sliding latch on the back that proved unreliable. Collectors sometimes mention that quirk when telling early examples from later revisions.
Some later versions carried the Autographic feature, a small trapdoor in the back with an iron stylus for writing notes directly on the film. The leather bellows came in red or black, and bodies typically show brass and chrome accents. A 1909 "Model B" variant is documented, also for 120 film.
As with most Kodak folding cameras of this era, the surviving documentation is uneven. The Science Museum Group's specimen gives the most reliable technical record: 120 roll film, 2¼ × 3¼-inch frame, meniscus achromat lens with apertures 1, 2, and 3, Brownie Automatic shutter (I/B/T), sliding focusing with preset stop, and the rotating reflecting finder. No original price, weight, or full dimensions are confirmed in the available sources.
Collectors like these cameras largely for their sturdy, straightforward construction and the nostalgia of early Kodak roll-film folders. A working example with a burgundy bellows appeared at auction in an assortment lot, and asking prices in casual listings have run around £50. The market is thin enough that no real consensus price exists. Check the bellows for light leaks and pinholes, and confirm the shutter fires on all three settings. The sliding latch on early models is worth a close look, too.
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