Antique Kodak cameras
from the late 1880s to the 1910s

C Daylight


The Daylight range of Kodak cameras was designed for use with a roll of film in a light tight box. You could load the camera with this box in subdued light. This was an improvement over the rolls that had to be loaded in a dark room. The largest model of the Daylights, model C, had a detacheable film back, that could be replaced with an optional plate back. The camera in the video has such a plate back. It took pictures of 4 x 5 inch (about 10 x 13 cm) and cost $ 25 in its day.
If a Daylight camera has a plate back, the "Daylight" name is out of place because the plate holders had to be loaded in a dark room with the glass plates. To make things more complex: the C Daylight was not always sold with a film back but could be bought with a plate back.  If this was the case, the camera was called C Special Glass Plate Kodak. What's in a name! The camera that was made from 1891 until 1895. Only 2475 were produced.