Kodak No. 2 Stereo Kodak (1901)
The No. 2 Stereo Kodak, introduced in 1901, was the only box-stereo camera the company ever made. Most stereo cameras of the era were complex twin-lens instruments on tripods. This one was a simple leather-covered wooden box that ran on roll film, which made 3D pictures actually portable. It had a Rapid Rectilinear lens up front, a spring-powered shutter with T (time) and I (instant) settings, and fixed focus. You composed through a brilliant viewfinder, checked your level with the built-in spirit level, and advanced the film until a red window showed the next frame was in place.
Kodak's own 1903 catalog was unabashed in its praise. It claimed the "steadily increasing popularity of this instrument is conclusive evidence of its worth" and that it was "simple in construction, but it stands the supreme test - it makes good pictures." The design also offered a single-exposure option: pull a blind over one lens and the other half of the stereo pair works as a standard camera. The format was two 3¼" x 3¼" exposures on No. 101 roll film, producing a 3½" x 6" stereo image when mounted.
Surviving information beyond that is thin. No original price, no dimensions and no production end date are documented. Serial number 2252 exists in the record, and Brian Coe's Kodak Cameras (p.31) gives the total made as 2,500+. A Leitz Auction example with a serial number in that range sold for €360. A Special Auction Services listing estimated one at £200-£300 but it went unsold. Condition notes from that listing mention fungus in the elements, scuffs, and light wear.
Known specs:
- Format: Two 3¼" x 3¼" exposures on No. 101 roll film
- Lens: Rapid Rectilinear, three apertures
- Shutter: Spring-powered, T & I settings
- Focus: Fixed
- Construction: Leather-covered wood
- Finder: Brilliant viewfinder; spirit level
- Film advance indicated by red window
- Single-exposure facility via blind over one lens
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