No.4 Folding Kodet (vertical body), 1894

I don't get around to making many Show & Tell posts these days, but this rarity crossed my path late last year.

No.4 Folding Kodet (vertical body), 1894
Eastman Kodak Company
Lens: Doublet
Shutter: Kodet
Format: 4 x 5 plates or rollfilm

A growing sub-collection in my American cameras are Kodak's early self-casing, bellows cameras made from 1890 to 1897. Within that window, 1894 to 1896, Kodak sold an inexpensive series of amateur cameras called Folding Kodets in three sizes: 3¼ x 4¼" (No.3), 4 x 5" (No.4), and 5 x 7" (No.5). Shown here is an example of the short-lived, first version No.4 Folding Kodet vertical body pattern.

Kodak's Camera Production Order Book tallies 2,246 orders for No.4 Folding Kodets from April 1894 to May 1896. This doesn't mean that all orders were actually built and delivered. Only 646 cameras were ordered in 1894, of which one-third had the doublet lens option.

This example has a polished wood bed and finder, and an internal double-swing back. Otherwise, most vertical models have black drop beds and finders. Kodak's production orders, catalogues, and adverts do not differentiate the build variations, and one of my research goals is to figure out if there is a pattern to the design changes.

The top-loading, vertical style No.4 Folding Kodets were eventually replaced by side-loading, horizontal models. This was probably Kodak's strategy to keep pace with the growing popularity of competitor's side-loading plate cameras.

This camera is #364, and probably made from late-April to early-May, 1894. When adjusted for inflation, the 1894 price of $15 (basic model) is equivalent to $568 (2025).

The second picture is a comparison of the vertical and horizontal No.4 models.