Kodak Tourist 1948-1951

This is one of those oldies that appears to have been used a couple of times and put away for decades. It was stuck tight in its leather case  which I had to pry off with a butter knife.



  When I pushed that little chromed button to the right of the "Kodak" medallion, the front opened and I was greeted that that wonderful "new camera" smell.

That big button on the door is the shutter release.






































  The red-window cover was frozen to the camera covering and required a drop of lighter fluid to free it. The cover is a copper-based metal.  The green stuff is copper oxide, (Cu2O.)

I fired off the remaining frames but they were devoid of any image after processing. Very odd. The shutter opens and stuff but the film shows no trace of exposure.


  "Caution. This camera does not take 120 film" Stupid 620 film !





  Photos used to be treasured, like the people in them. Books were purchased to store photographs in. You probably have a few in your home. As years pass, less of the people in your photo books are identifiable.  Not because the photos fade, but because the people that knew them disappear. They are lost forever.


I have many such photographs in my books.
















































  While this lady was trapped in the camera presidents were shot. Men walked on The Moon. The Berlin wall was built and torn down. Soldiers died in places that she'd likely never heard of. Men of unimaginable evil attacked America in airplanes she couldn't have imagined. Her long lost image would be available for viewing all over the world.

While she know doubt would be impressed by todays technology, she would have been disappointed at how hateful so many of us remain.



















































  Fed - Flash. Federal Mfg. and Engineering Corp. - Brooklyn, NY. 1946 - 1957

 When the Fed-Flash first surfaced, the kit (camera, flash and case) it sold for about $18.50. When it died in 1957, the kit went for $4.95. I'm guessing it wasnt a huge seller. The Fed-Flash was the only camera FM&EC ever made. Too bad. As crappy cameras go, this one isn't that badly made.
















































Eight exposures on 127 film. I promise to use it in the future.
















Christmas trees don't last very long. Cats last longer. Christmas trees are adorded for a few days, then they are passe'. They get dragged out of the house, shedding pointy green tears all over the floor.  A few pieces of tinsel frequently accompany the tree on its final journey.

They wind up in a dump or in the woods, waiting to be covered with snow. I have about a dozen of them in the woods behind my house. Most of them wouldn't be recognized as Christmas trees by anyone but me.  I couldn't tell you which tree came from which year or what presents were under which one. I can tell you that they were all witnesses to treasured times.









































Lamps are utilitarian things. I couldn't describe any of them in my house without looking at them.  Some people are really into lamps and spend a lot of time picking them out. I think they used to be popular presents but not so much any more. I don't think I ever bought a lamp. Someone liked the one pictured to the left. It may have been a Christmas present.

I recall having lamps like this in the house I grew up in. Someone else lives there now. The "best" lamps were in "the parlor." No one ever went into the parlor. It was kind of a showplace, I guess.










































 I'll bet  piano sales weren't very good in 2006. Electronic keyboards likely have put a dent in the business. Pianos used to be more common and you can still find them in houses you visit.

I play a little piano but not all that well. When I find a piano in a house I'm in, I try to play something that someone will recognize. I usually give up after the first few notes because the piano is way out of tune.














Kodacolor-X in HC110 (b)