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Marty
Tinkerer
Username: Marty
Post Number: 98
Registered: 11-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, August 26, 2012 - 09:14 am: | 
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This is hardly a valuable "'how to post, but it's a story about things gradually falling into place...
Long ago, before ebay or the internet, I came across an old 4x5 Boston Bullseye box camera. Not as significant as it's smaller 3 1/4 x 3 1/4 sibling with "the first red window," but a cool old camera nonetheless. The only real defect was that it had a "No.4 Kodak Bullseye" handle on it. Kodak occasionally would put it's name on another company's camera after acquiring the company, sometimes speaking of that company as a division of Eastman Kodak, but this didn't happen with Boston to my knowledge, and nothing resembling the 4x5 Boston Bullseye never appeared in the Kodak catalogs. Kodak refined the design after buying the company and eliminated the effective but almost comical "big brass thumbscrew through the other side of the camera" mechanism to hold the Boston Bullseyes shut. Anyway, I left the handle on for years, but it didn't really belong...
A few years ago, I picked up a Kodak Bullseye Special without a handle. After a few months of thinking about it, I switched the Bullseye handle off the old Boston onto my new Special. I had no problem with taking the handle off the Boston, figuring that it was better off with no handle at all than the WRONG handle. The Bullseye Special now had a handle from the right company, but still... it bothered me. It was still WRONG... In some ways "wronger," because the mistaken label wasn't so wrong as to be obvious. I'd sort of created something improper that might confuse a future collector, even though the handle labeled the camera as something a little less desirable... It was just wrong...
A few weeks ago I got lucky, and picked up a No.4 Kodak Bullseye with a No.4 Kodak Bullseye Special Handle on it. The next step was obvious... Last night, I spent a few minutes with a screwdriver and switched the handles. Simple. Now, both No.4 Kodak Bullseyes have proper handles. The old Boston still has no handle, but at least it's no longer wearing the later Kodak one.
I feel better about 'em all now. I think I'll hit "post message," and then go downstairs and look at 'em...  |
Finnegan
Tinkerer
Username: Finnegan
Post Number: 244
Registered: 09-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 12, 2012 - 11:50 am: |
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That reminds me of a Kodak Autographic 1A that I had. It was in terrible condition so I rescued the shutter. But, anyway, the handle was the one thing in nearly new condition. I can't figure how the handle was so pristine compared to the camera. I still have the handle but I don't know what to do with it. |
Marty
Tinkerer
Username: Marty
Post Number: 104
Registered: 11-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 16, 2012 - 04:04 pm: |
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Well, there's gonna be a day when a 1A Kodak Autographic comes along that needs a handle...
My rather wordy post from last August didn't contribute any valuable technical nuggets, aside from pointing out that often, if one is willing to wait long enough, needed parts will often eventually show up. |
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