I have an antique Kodak tripod that I can’t find much info about. It is labeled on the top Kodak Tripod No. 1?
I can’t find much info on this tripod. It is of metal construction with a possibly aluminum top. It reads as follows:
No1-Kodak Tripod
Eastman Kodak CO.
Rochester N.Y.
USA Pat Aug 24 97 Oct 31 11 Nov 21 11
I believe the dates to represent 1897 and 1911
I would appreciate if anybody could give me guidance as to when this tripod was actually made, as patent dates aren’t necessarily production dates.
I was able to find the first patent number for the 1897 date as 588552 for the “Brownell Tripod” for Kodak. I haven’t been able to research the other two dates.
After using the Google patent search (wish I had known about that earlier), I was able to find the other 2 patents based on the dates on the top of the tripod.
Your assessment that the “97″ and “11″ represent “1897″ and “1911″ is correct. If you have the curiosity and the time, look up the information on those patents on Google patent search, link below. Also try to link to other patents that cite those two original patents, which should provide you with clues for production dates.
Unlike cameras and other optics, most tripods don’t carry serial numbers and are thus are hard to date with any accuracy (within a few years at best) without further documentaion. I’d seriously suggest you contact Kodak and inquire about production dates. With luck, they’ll have kept their archives and have somebody there willing to help you out. Given the current economic climate, you may not get an answer, but it’s worth a shot.
Obviously, the tripod wasn’t made before the last patent date. In general, any object with a patent date is most likely made within the period the patent(s) was (were) in force. IIRC, that was 17 years in 1911 – so I’d be willing to bet your camera was most likely made some time in the 1910s or the first half of the 1920s.
—- additional comments —-
Often products that are made with little change over many years carry patent dates after the patent printed on them expire. That was the basis of my suggestion that you look for citations by later patents that refer back to the old ones. The dates of the later patents that are not stamped into the tripod will help you estimate an end-date when it was made.
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