Agfa Box 44, 1933 - 1938
Scope and Contents
Box camera; 120 roll film; image size 6 X 9 cm; rotary shutter, timed and instant; f/9.5 lens. Lacking strap.
Dates
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1933 - 1938
Creator
- Agfa (Manufacturer, Organization)
Access
This material is open for research use by any registered reader.
Biographical / Historical
In 1932 the German Agfa company had a new idea for an advertising campaign. German coins had a letter imprinted that indicated the place of minting. Customers were asked to collect four single 1-Mark coins with the letters "A", "G", "F" and "A". With this money in hand they could avail themselves of a special offer by Agfa for the new Box 44. Most box cameras were quite simple. So was the Box 44. But four marks were still a dumping price. The camera was nicknamed "Preisbox" (Prize). The loss that Agfa made by selling the cameras so cheaply was more than compensated with the following sales of Agfa film rolls.
The camera was produced from 1933 to 1938 and was a huge success. It helped to popularize photography widely. In the 1950s that popularity was revived, again with an Agfa box, the succeeding model Agfa Box 50.
Extent
1 item (1 camera) : glass, metal, wood, cardboard ; 8 X 10.5 X 12.5 cm
Language of Materials
English
Repository Details
Part of the The University of Tulsa, McFarlin Library, Department of Special Collections & University Archives Repository
McFarlin Library
University of Tulsa
2933 E. 6th St
Tulsa 74104-3123 USA
(918) 631-2496
speccoll@utulsa.edu