Or Should That Be Bakelite Brethren, Perchance? Actually, I'm Not The Biggest Fan Of Most Anything Made From 'Polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride' Or As It Became Better Known, 'Bakelite', In Memory Of Its Inventor In 1907, The Belgian Industrial Scientist Dr Leo Baekeland. Maybe Having Grown Up In The 50s And Seeing So Many Moulded Bakelite Toys Get Dropped From Comparatively Small Heights And Smash Into Instant Jigsaw Puzzles, Might Just Have Something To Do With This Sardonic Attitude Of Mine. Besides, When It Comes To Cameras, I Reckon Most Bakelite-Bodied Items Have A Very Cheap-And-Nasty Look About Them. However, I Make An Exception For These Five, Which Are: L Front: 1948-ish Purma Special, 127 3.2 X 3.2 Cm Format, With f6.3 Beck Anastigmat Lens And The Weirdest Gravity-Controlled So-Called Focal Plane Shutter You'd Ever Imagine; L Rear: 1956 Agilux Agiflash, 127 4 X 6.2 Cm Format, Meniscus Lens And 'I' Shutter Speed Only - It's Really A Box Camera In Disguise, But Boy - Does It Look Nice! Now Why Couldn't Those Other Bakelite Bodgers Come Up With Something Similar .... Centre: 1915 Kodak No 1 Autographic Special (Mod A), 120 6X 9 Cm Format, With f6.3 TTH Cooke Anastigmat Lens/Wollensak Optimo Pneumatic Shutter - The One That Started It All, Being The First Camera To Use Anything Bakelitean In Its Body. It Was Only The Side Panels Though, Which Soon Developed A Reputation Of Cracking When The Camera Was Dropped, Even Just A Short Distance. Sounds A Familiar Problem, Eh? So EKC Of Rochester Soon Decided Bakelite Wasn't All It Was Cracked Up To Be (Groan!) And Went Back To Trusty Old Metal, Only Using Bakelite For Low-End Cameras. R - Front Talking Of Which - a 1952 Kodak Baby Brownie, 127 4 X 6 Cm Format Box Camera, Meniscus Lens/'B' And 'I' shutter - A Kodak UK-Made Version Of The Original EKC Rochester Model Reputedly Designed By No Less Than Walter Teague, The Undisputed King Of Art-Deco Industrial Design. However, Its Compact Dimensions And Interesting Looks Fail To Conceal Its Awful Picture-Taking Capabilities. A Friend Had One Of These As His Very First Camera At 10 Years Old, And It Almost Put Him Off Photography For Life. R - Rear 1939 AGFA Jsolette 120 Dual-Format 6 X 6/4.5 X 6 Cm Folder, With f4.5 Apotar/Prontor Shutter With S/Timer - Like The 1915 Kodak, Bakelite Was Only Partly Used For The Body - In This Case Just For The Top Cover. AGFA Called Their Version Of Bakelite 'Trolitan', And It Does Seem To Exhibit Both Additional Shine And Strength Over Dr B's Original Brew. However, Post-War Isolettes Went The Pressed-Metal Route Just Like EKC Did Way Back When. (I Would LIke To Dedicate This Page To James S., That Unabashed Admirer Of All Things Bakelitean. Chacun A Son Gout, Mate!)