While digging into the history of photography for the masses, it occurred to me that I hadn't seen that old folding camera of Grandpa's since moving into the new house. In a fit of obsessive compulsiveness, down came the ladder to the attic space above the garage and up I went.I didn't find it right away, of course. If I'd known which box it was in, I probably wouldn't have felt the need to go thumping about like some sort of overgrown roof rat. And it's not as if the effort was wasted. Opening the wrong boxes gave me a mental catalogue of what's in them, which may save me having to go on a tear the next time I think of something I haven't seen in a while.
But I did find it: the Kodak Jiffy V.P. [1935-1942] camera that my grandparents had used to take most of the few photos I have of my mother when she was very young.
10 comments:
Woah. Who would have known that would have evolved into the digial cameras we have today? Sorry about the no paragraph thing--I think I've got them in now.
-Spots
Oh, you've all the answers, haven't you? Well, for your information, the boxes I packed are marked with clues that mean something to me. However, I had quite a bit of welcome assistance, which means that not all the labels on the boxes reflect what's actually in the boxes.
But I don't mind. It's kind of like a scavenger hunt. For instance, while rummaging in the box that ultimately held the camera, I discovered my framed college diploma, which I had long assumed was forever lost.
Does the camera work? Quite likely, but I haven't tried. I'm don't even know if 127 size film is still manufactured, much less processed. Maybe I'll look into it.
Right after I get that 35mm roll from 1997 developed.
Wow, you actually have the original box? I have the old 8mm video camera my grandparents had when I was a child. I just wish I had saved the projector.
Being a general pain in the crass, I did a little scanning to see what something like that would now be worth, and was surprised to find the answer was, not much. eBay France had one that went for 18 Euros and some change, which I believe converts to either 27 cents or 4 quadrillion pesos. One in Canada went unbid upon at $10, but then the Canadians are a generally shifty bunch.
Does egg nog have an expiration date?
Bret: I hadn't gone looking to see what Grandpa's camera is worth, but it doesn't surprise me to learn that it's not particularly valuable. Aside from the age and the fact that it's still in fine condition (Anne: I'm tickled about having the original box, as well), it's really no different than the bazillions of ugly little argent and black Instamatics that everyone had back in the '60s or those ill-advised 110-format point-and-shooters from the '70s.
Which only makes it that much easier to be content with simply putting it on a shelf with an antique clock and some old books and calling it a decorative accent.
...and one more thing.
I did a bit of looking around, and it seems there are still some places that sell hard-to-find film sizes. I'll be hanging on to the link for The Frugal Photographer in case I decide to take a whack at shooting some pictures with Grandpa's Jiffy.
Wow! What a great find. I'm with Susie - does it work?
It probably does work. All the controls are in good order, and the shutter is smooth and crisp sounding. I expect that if I were to run down a roll of black and white 127 film, the camera would take pictures just as well as it did in its heyday.
But there are a couple gotchas. First, this is a relatively primitive camera. There's a full page chart describing how to estimate exposure times using various types of available light. There's another describing which of two apertures to use under various outdoor conditions.
It's obviously an art—one that I haven't practiced since I was taking pictures with my mom's old Kodak Duaflex II.
Come to think of it, I probably should track down which of my siblings I gave that to and see if I can get it back.
Anyway, the other gotcha might be finding a photo lab that will still process 127 roll film, though one would think that a city the size of Dallas should have one or two.
Suse: No, I'm not angry. In fact, I thought the whole 'killer' thing was pretty funny. You can probably tell I was going for 'bad boy lady killer' for the camera. Instead, I (apparently) came off as 'Joe Dirt, inbred serial killer'.
That cracked me up!
I pulled the picture down because Dylan was talking like you planned to post the picture on your blog.
Now, you've seen the picture. [chuckling] Would you want that getting out?
Hope you can find the film for that camera...it would be intriguing to see if it works soup to nuts.
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