IREDELL MUSEUMS
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Photography

Photography, from the Greek photos and graphe, translates to “drawing with light,” and this concept can be seen using different processes. For much of photographic history, cameras have been used for entertainment and historical documentation. Photographs evoke emotion and nostalgia, and also serve as a source of knowledge and information about what life was like in the past or what life is like in places we have never visited.
Photography, arguably one of the most phenomenal inventions of the century, had a profound and far reaching effect on both art and culture, though at first it was viewed not so much as a device of artistry but a document. Portrait photography quickly became a popular way to “document” and translate the natural world onto a two-dimensional space in which to give the subject posterity. The Frenchman, Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre (1787-1851), often recognized as the father of photography, wrestled with the capabilities and possibilities of the photograph.  He concerned himself with the relationship between the photographic illusion, which tends to emulate nature while also re-presenting it. While the earliest photographic processes date to 1839, it wasn’t until the 1850s that an inexpensive process to reproduce images and had a shorter developing time allowed for the mass production of images. Through the collodian process, the carte de visite (CDV) and the cabinet card were born during the 1850s. Subsequently, film companies like Eastman Kodak and Polaroid prioritized photographic processes accessible to the home photographer.

Iredell Museums has several common cameras in the permanent collection dating from the early to mid 20th century, from multiple donors.

Yashica Mat Copal MXV/Yashica Mat Copal MXV EM, 1940s-1960s (The “EM” stands for Exposure Meter”)

Foldex 20 Pho-tak Corp Camera, 1948-1960

Polaroid Land Camera 110A, 1950s-1960s

  Eastman Kodak No 1A Pocket Kodak, 1910s-1920s

 Kodak Automatic, 1900

 Kodak Duaflex (Duaflex cameras were made between 1947-1960)

Kodak Vest Pocket cameras (1912-1935)

Polaroid Land Camera “The 800”, 1957-1962

AGFA Compur Rapid, 1930s.

Kodak Hawkeye Pocket Instamatic, 1973-1979

No. 3A Pocket Kodak, 1903-1915

Falcon Camera, 1930s-1940s

 Kodak Brownie Bullseye, 1954-1960 (Kodak Brownie cameras were made between 1900-1987)

 Brownie Hawkeye Flash Model, 1949-1961

Baby Brownie Special, 1939-1954

  Brownie Holiday flash outfit, 1953-1962

Spartus Full vue, 1948-1960

Ansco Rediflex, 1940s-1950s

Graflex 22, 1950s

Ciroflex Rapax Raptar, 1950s

Hours
​Wednesday 10am-3pm
Thursday
10am-3pm
Friday
​10am-3pm
Saturday
11am-4pm

Telephone

(704) 873-7347

Address

134 Court Street, Statesville, NC 28677
  • HOME
  • VISIT
    • Plan your visit
    • Events
    • ABOUT US >
      • Who We Are
      • Contact Us
      • History
  • EXPLORE
    • Gregory Creek Homestead
    • Current Exhibits
    • Past Exhibits >
      • Smithsonian Crossroads Tour
      • Unraveling Ancient Egypt
      • The Wallace Brothers
      • Return to the Land of My Ancestors
    • EDUCATION >
      • Programs
      • Field Trips
    • Iredell Museums Kids
  • SUPPORT
    • Membership
    • Volunteer
    • Donate
    • GIFT SHOP