Miniature Camera - Coronet Midget
Production date
Circa 1935
Country
England
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Object detail
Description
Green and black marbled bakelite miniature camera. Fitted with Taylor Hobson ground glass fixed focus lens. This version has a pressure plate and film winding knob.
Classification
PHOTOGRAPHY Cameras Still coronet midget
Maker
Production date
Circa 1935
Production place
Measurements
L32.5 x W36 x H65mm
Media/Materials description
Bakelite, metal
Signature/Marks
CORONET \ MIDGET \ 16M/M FILM \ MADE IN ENGLAND BY THE CORONET CAMERA CO/ BIRMINGHAM/ BRITISH PATENTS APPLIED FOR/ DESIGN REGISTERED
SAFETY SLIDE
OPEN HERE
SAFETY SLIDE
OPEN HERE
History and use
The Coronet Midget was a miniature, fully operational camera marketed as “The Tom Thumb” of cameras, convenient and simple to use. It was distributed widely and cheaply through mail order catalogues, popular in a time where smaller film sizes were sought after.
Coronet Camera Company in Birmingham, England, produced Midget cameras from 1935 until 1943. The company specialised in making extremely cheap, simple cameras with their own attachments and accessories. The Coronet Midget came in several different colours (blue was the rarest), with subtle differences of design which made the cameras very collectable. The Coronet catalogue advertised that for a little extra, you could buy matching coloured Morocco grained leather cases for your Midget camera, or even a pocket-sized print enlarger called the ‘Scoper’. The Midget was sold with its own 6-exposure film.
Despite its simplicity and attractive design, the camera’s slow exposure time meant that it was probably not used very much, especially not by serious photographers.
Uploaded to the Web 27 May 2011.
Coronet Camera Company in Birmingham, England, produced Midget cameras from 1935 until 1943. The company specialised in making extremely cheap, simple cameras with their own attachments and accessories. The Coronet Midget came in several different colours (blue was the rarest), with subtle differences of design which made the cameras very collectable. The Coronet catalogue advertised that for a little extra, you could buy matching coloured Morocco grained leather cases for your Midget camera, or even a pocket-sized print enlarger called the ‘Scoper’. The Midget was sold with its own 6-exposure film.
Despite its simplicity and attractive design, the camera’s slow exposure time meant that it was probably not used very much, especially not by serious photographers.
Uploaded to the Web 27 May 2011.
Registration number
H22210
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