The Kodak Box Brownie democratized the camera and photography for the masses. It was introduced in 1900, being sold at retail stores across America, and advertised in magazines. The retail price of the Brownie camera was a dollar. A dollar in 1900 is worth $36.64 today, but it was more accessible than other forms of photography. Kodak marketed the camera towards children, marketing the camera to the Boy Scouts, and held annual competitions to see which child could take the best picture with their Brownie box. Because of the low cost of the camera, parents began to buy the camera for their children. Parents would end up using them more than the children. People were able to document their life as it happened. The Brownie camera made it possible to capture intimate moments, joy, sadness, and the everyday human experience. This convenience meant more personal events could be captured and could occur in a natural environment instead of having to pay a photographer to take their picture in a studio. Another benefit of the Brownie camera was the convenience of getting the pictures developed. Kodak used roll film that covered the photographic film from light. The most common type of photographic film at the time was gelatin silver print. The film was coated in gelatin, the gelatin had silver salts, which were sensitive to light.
Citations
“America Meets the Personal Camera | DPLA,” n.d. https://dp.la/exhibitions/evolution-personal-camera/america-personal-camera/photography-for-everyone?item=1052.
The New York Public Library. “An Introduction to Photographic Processes,” n.d. https://www.nypl.org/collections/nypl-recommendations/guides/photographic-processes.
National Science and Media Museum Blog. “B Is for... Brownie, the Camera That Democratised Photography - National Science and Media Museum Blog,” October 26, 2012. https://blog.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/a-z-photography-collection-b-is-for-brownie/.
“Inflation Rate between 1900-2023 | Inflation Calculator,” n.d. https://www.officialdata.org/us/inflation/1900?amount=1.
The following object description information includes basic elements from the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI). An additional notes field is included to list dates from the actual letter, envelope postmark locations, and any other identifying details.
Photograph of immigrants eating after arriving at Ellis Island, NY
The same day on April 17, 1907, the United States would have the largest recorded process of immigrants in the country's history. Ellis Island processed 11,747 immigrants in one day. The majority of the immigrants that were processed that day were European, with the largest portion being from Russia. In 1907 1.25 million were proceed at Ellis Island. In the same year, several immigration policies were added, which made entering the country more difficult. There was an increase of two dollars increase on the existing two-dollar head tax, the US Government did this to deter poorer immigrants from trying to enter the country. Additional policies allowed immigrants to be denied entry because of their mental or physical "defects," and ships could be fined for bringing these people. Steamships were already fined for transporting passengers with diseases. One positive contribution the act brought forth was the improvement of conditions on the board of ships. Ships had provided more space for passengers, which meant that the steamships had to carry fewer passengers per trip.
Citations:
Citation
Evansville Courier & Press. “Evansville Weather Data.” Evansville Courier & Press, April 1, 1907. https://data.courierpress.com/weather-data/south-carolina/45/1907-04-01/?syear=1906&eyear=1907#summary.