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

No. 5 Folding Kodak Stereo


The stereo version of the No. 5 Improved Folding Kodak is one of the rarest of Kodaks.
Stereo lenses and shutters were offered as an option for the No. 5 and 6 Improved Folding Kodaks during the mid 1890's. The set cost an extra $ 32.50. The No. 5 with single lens had a price tag of $ 75. Add up the two and the stereo camera did cost a hefty $ 107.50.
The specimen in my collection is a 1894 model with a rack and pinion wheel for focusing, straight baseboard struts and a wooden lens panel without the metal brace on top.
On the baseboard are two distance scales. The one close to the front edge was used with the single lens. The one close to the body had to be used whith the stereo lenses, because the focal distance of these lenses in much shorter than the focal distance of the regular lens. So in the video you see the correct extension for this camera.

 

This is an example of a stereo photo that was probably taken with a No. 6 Folding Kodak stereo. The images are too large to have been made with a No. 5 Folding Kodak. The pair is mounted on a mount which shows the Kodak floral design of the early 1890's.

 

 

On the inside of the bellows is a cloth partition and black wooden frame to prevent the images from the two lenses to overlap. The partition and frame can be removed when the camera is to be used with a single lens. The stereo images are 74 mm wide and 80 mm high.