The Brownie

The brownie was first invented by Franklin A. Brownell for the company Kodak. The materials that were used to build the camera didn’t cost much and the camera was sold for just about one dollar. Because the cost was low the camera was manufactured in large quantities. Just in the first year there were one hundred and fifty thousand cameras shipped which was three times what was previously sold. With the invention of the Brownie in the late 1800’s it was possible for anyone from kids to the elderly t to take pictures that were known as snapshots. Snapshot is a term which was meant to shoot from the hip without careful aim. The snapshot became popular the same time the Brownie was put into the market. The snapshot is amateur and was used for capturing special occasions like birthdays, holidays, everyday life, etc. The Brownie was mostly aimed for the child’s market and was named after little characters that were created by Palmer Cox who was a children’s author and illustrator. He had Brownie characters that were as popular as Mickey Mouse today. Palmer’s Brownie characters appeared in everything from magazines, candles, coffee, ice cream, painkillers, etc. Putting the characters on items helped sell them faster and more efficiently. The Brownie characters were also marketed as dolls, games, puzzles, and trading cards. Because there was so much success in the character items, naming the camera after the Brownie characters helped boost the success of the camera.
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/corp/features/brownieCam/