VisLang: Redo- Kodak Camera ad.

This camera company's ad from 1888 is representational of the historic events leading to mass production of photographers everywhere.

September 1888

Tuesday 04:

George Eastman registers the trademark Kodak, and receives a patent for his camerawhich uses roll film.


The word "Kodak" was first registered as a trademark in 1888. There has been some fanciful speculation, from time to time, on how the name was originated. But the plain truth is that Eastman invented it out of thin air.
He explained: "I devised the name myself. The letter "K" had been a favorite with me -- it seems a strong, incisive sort of letter. It became a question of trying out a great number of combinations of letters that made words starting and ending with 'K.' The word 'Kodak' is the result."


Eastman built his business on four basic principles:

• mass production at low cost
• international distribution
• extensive advertising
• a focus on the customer

In 1889, the Eastman Photographic Materials Company, Limited, was incorporated in London, England, to handle distribution of Kodak products in countries outside the U.S. At first, all goods were manufactured in Rochester. Before long, the combined international and domestic demand outpaced plant resources.

This link leads to a page talking strictly on advertisements for Kodak in the 1880s.

I believe this particular ad is targeting upper-class adults that wish to try their hands at photography. The above link talks about the first Kodak camera costing the equivalency of about $500 in the year 2000. Thus it is not something the poor could afford at the time. This was to be a rich-mans sport. 

This link is about Paul Nadar, who was Eastman's agent. He was an artist, though photography seemed to be his forte. There is no listed artist for the ad I have chosen to recreate, but the illustration of the camera was used in several Kodak ads. 

The ad is broken down into paragraphs, thus hierarchy are important. There is a good combination of serif and sans serif type faces. It is simple, and yet contains a lot of information. 

I believe this ad falls under the idea of Logos. The ad is very factual  and logically stated in order to show the public that this is something easy to use and for the public. Easy to use over and over and over again.