Dad at age 18 or 19 holding his Kodak Jiffy camera case
My father loved cameras! He enjoyed posing for pictures just as much as he enjoyed taking them. I believe I’m the one in the family that enjoys cameras as much as he did. Since his death, all of his cameras have been passed on to me. So on my list of things to do this year, I will inspect each one and determine what condition they are in at this time. Well, the day to inspect one of those cameras came this past weekend while I was scanning some old photos of my father to my computer. I came across the photo you see to the right of him around the age of 18 or 19 posing for a picture while holding a camera case in his hand. That camera case looked very familiar to me. So I pulled out all the stored cameras and there it was — dad’s Kodak Jiffy Camera (series II), 620 roll film camera for eight 6 x 9 cm negatives that was built around 1937!
Kodak Jiffy (series II) camera, 1937
According to the UK website – The Living Image Vintage Camera Museum, “The Jiffy is a budget camera but [offers] a little more control than a box camera. The lens has two position focus with the front element mounted in a screw barrel… The Jiffy cameras all share a common design of catch to keep the back closed; whilst it succeeds at keeping the back tightly closed and is unlikely to open accidentally, it is subject to binding after a few years of inactivity. Consequently many are broken.”
One thing I know for sure is that the common design of the catch to keep the back of the camera tightly close works like a pro because 75 years later, I cannot get the back of this camera open — LOL! I will be taking it to a camera shop this summer to get it open and determine if I will be able to use it, and/or, actually learn to use it. It is in mint condition after all these years. I’m excited to see what this little jewel from 1937 can do!
If you love cameras and have a vintage Kodak like this one, let me hear from you!
Claiming Kin Genealogy 
Aren’t you the lucky one to have a photographer dad…my dad is also a photographer. This is a nice photo. Hey–how was the Houston Expo?
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Hi Robyn! Thanks so much for checking out my photographer dad and yes, inheriting all of his cameras and camera accessories has been a true treat!
The Houston Family History Expo 2012 was GREAT! I learned a lot and have been putting into practice those things that I learned. As a result, I haven’t blogged much this month due to all the research I’ve been involved in. But, I plan to get back in the grove with my blogging soon because I have some great new information to share about my family, and to talk about the excellent genealogists I’ve had the pleasure to meet this month too. So stay tuned!
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Hi Robyn! Thanks so much for checking out my photographer dad and yes, inheriting all of his cameras and camera accessories has been a true treat!
The Houston Family History Expo 2012 was GREAT! I learned a lot and have been putting into practice those things that I’ve learned. As a result, I haven’t blogged much this month due to all the research I’ve been involved in. But, I plan to get back in the grove with my blogging soon because I have some great new information to share about my family, and to talk about the excellent genealogists I’ve had the pleasure to meet this month too. So stay tuned!
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Greetings Keith and THANK YOU so much for stopping by and for providing such a FABULOUS site about vintage cameras for someone like me to link to, read and refer to often. The WD40 tip you give is an excellent one that I will use for sure; I truly appreciate you!
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Fabulous to have the picture of your Dad and the camera together…. and to have the camera itself. A wonderful sense of connection. The catch will free up with exercise, and a drop of WD40 or similar. Thanks for the link! Keith, from the Living Image Camera Museum.
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