# George Eastman's Original Box Camera Design

> A foundational 1888 patent by George Eastman describing the mechanical structure of a simple, mass-market box camera that made photography accessible to everyday people.

- **Patent:** US 388850
- **Original title:** Camera
- **Owner:** George Eastman
- **Granted:** 1888
- **Status:** Active
- **Times cited:** 1
- **Field:** consumer_electronics, mechanical

## What it does

This patent describes the internal mechanical housing and shutter mechanism for a portable camera. It focuses on the structural assembly required to hold a roll of photographic film and expose it to light through a lens. By simplifying the internal components, it allowed for a compact, handheld device that did not require a tripod or complex chemical setup by the user.

## What it does NOT cover

- Does not cover digital image sensors or electronic light metering
- Does not cover autofocus mechanisms or motorized lens movement
- Does not cover the chemical composition of the photographic film itself
- Does not cover color photography processes

## The clever bit

The innovation was the extreme simplification of the camera body into a self-contained box, which allowed the user to simply press a button rather than manually calibrate light and focus.

## Real-world examples

1. The original Kodak box camera
2. Early 20th-century consumer film cameras

## Why it matters

This patent marks the birth of the Kodak brand and the shift from photography being a professional, high-skill trade to a hobby for the general public. It effectively commoditized the act of taking a photograph, leading to the 'snapshot' culture that defines modern visual media.

## Frequently asked questions

### What does George Eastman's Original Box Camera Design cover?

A foundational 1888 patent by George Eastman describing the mechanical structure of a simple, mass-market box camera that made photography accessible to everyday people.

### Who owns patent US 388850?

George Eastman owns this patent, granted in 1888.

### When does this patent expire?

This patent has expired and is now in the public domain — anyone can use the invention freely.

### What is patent US 388850 cited by?

This patent has been cited by 1 later patents that build on its ideas.

### What problem does this patent solve?

This patent marks the birth of the Kodak brand and the shift from photography being a professional, high-skill trade to a hobby for the general public. It effectively commoditized the act of taking a photograph, leading to the 'snapshot' culture that defines modern visual media.

### What does this patent NOT cover?

Does not cover digital image sensors or electronic light metering

**Full plain-English explainer:** https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/388850/kodak-roll-film-camera-eastman

**Original patent:** https://patents.google.com/patent/US388850

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_Source: PatentBrief — https://patentbrief.org. Patent facts are from public records; the plain-English explanation is PatentBrief's._


## Related patents

Semantically similar inventions in the PatentBrief corpus:

- [The First Digital Camera's Core Technology](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/4131919/digital-camera-electronic-still) — Kodak's 1978 patent on the fundamental technology for capturing, processing, and storing digital images using a CCD sensor and magnetic tape.
- [How Thomas Edison's Kinetographic Camera Captured Early Motion Pictures](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/589168/motion-picture-camera-kinetograph) — An 1897 patent by Thomas Edison for a camera mechanism designed to capture sequential images on a moving film strip to create the illusion of motion.
- [How Polaroid's Instant Film Pods Work](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/2543181/polaroid-instant-camera) — A 1951 invention by Edwin Land that enabled instant photography by packaging liquid developer inside a breakable pod attached to the film sheet.
- [How Douglas Engelbart Invented the Computer Mouse](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/3541541/computer-mouse-input-device) — The 1970 patent for the X-Y position indicator, better known as the computer mouse, which allowed users to move a cursor across a screen for the first time.
- [How the Modern Disposable Paper Cup Was Invented](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/1032557/dixie-cup-disposable-paper-cup) — A 1908 patent for a sanitary, single-use paper cup designed to prevent the spread of germs from shared public drinking vessels.