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Thank you for the support. Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled programming:
Jumping back into the Kodak
Brownie series with one of their most eyecatching designs, the Kodak Beau
Brownie No. 2A camera.
I went through Kodak’s history
in my Kodak
200 Colorplus film post and the history of the Brownie series in my Brownie
Model 1 post. So, let’s jump straight into the camera at hand.
There were two versions made
for this camera, the No. 2, which was the small 120film camera and then the
larger No. 2A 116film camera, which is the camera discussed in this post.
 |
| Size comparison of the Brownie Beau No. 2A (left) and Beau No. 2 (right). Image Source: https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58ef86c9c534a563176f86ac/1e635e74-a7ad-408f-8028-717b0cdeb1c0/Beau-Brownie-Camera-2-2025_54.jpg?format=2500w |
The camera was made in
collaboration with “...industrial designer Walter Dorwin Teague, a frequent Kodak
collaborator…” (Stamler 2022). Walter Dorwin Teague is “…referred to as the ‘Dean
of Industrial Design’…” and is made famous for his designs in New-York’s World
fair, the Ford Building, other cameras with Kodak, such as the Bantam Special
and the Steinway piano with steel legs (Wikipedia).
 |
| Kodak Bantam Special. Image Source: https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3514/3823983053_bbe4b85c9c.jpg |
The Henry Ford (2025), also
writes that “Teague pioneered the merging of art and industry during this
period -- his collaboration with Kodak was just one of his many commercial
partnerships.”
The camera was manufactured in
1930-1933 and is described as “The basic Brownie’s chic and cosmopolitan
cousin, the ‘gaily dressed’ Beau Brownie—in the words of one contemporary
advertisement—featured a modernist faceplate inspired by art deco’s geometric
forms and lines…” (Stamler 2022). And as mentioned this camera came in two
variations. But there doesn’t seem to be that much of a difference between the
two cameras, other than the size difference and the fact that the No. 2 takes
120film and the No. 2A takes 116film.
But let’s have a closer look
at the Beau Brownie No. 2A. The body is metal and other than its large size, it
looks like a basic box Brownie camera. It has a size measurement of 92 x 135 x 130
mm and a weight of 620g (Art Deco Cameras 2020).
These cameras also came in different colours: “black, tan, green, rose, and blue” (Stamler 2022) with “textured letherette to match one of the colours in the face plate” (Art Deco Cameras 2020), but according to Cuny (2025), the rose and green colour are the rarer of the five, with them only being made in 1931. And The Henry Ford (2025) write that these colours were only available for three months! The camera of this post is the black variation.
Colour variations of the Beau Brownie. Image Source:
https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58ef86c9c534a563176f86ac/82565275-e3bb-4a75-b35f-ec7572f4f0af/Beau-Brownie-Camera-2-2025.jpg?format=2500w
This is the one reason why
people want this camera, because of the faceplate that has a “…2-tone enamelled
geometric Art Deco design…” (BCG Film and Photography) also known as an “Art
Deco geometric façade” design (Art Deco Cameras 2020). For this camera the
design uses chrome and enamel with a colour combination of black and maroon
(Pacific Rim Camera). This face plate is truly a marvel and a perfect addition
to anyone’s art deco collection/home decoration.
Next the lens-
The lens is a doublet lens
that “…allowed a shorter body than usual Brownie box cameras…” (BCG Film and
Photography). A doublet lens is also
known as an achromatic lens or achromatic-doublet lens and is basically two
lenses (a flint glass and crown glass) cemented together. To explain it in
better terms here is an excerpt from Sinoptix:
“Every optical material is
subject to chromatic dispersion, defined by their Vd value. This chromatic
dispersion will cause scattering of a signal at different wavelengths. The
objective of manufacturing a doublet lens is two uses to ‘complementary’
dispersing material to compensate the chromatic dispersion and have a resulting
doublet lens with identical focusing power on its whole wavelength range…” and
that “…Doublets improve the optical quality of a lens reducing both chromatic
dispersion and spherical aberration.”
It achieves this through the
flint glass that causes the light to scatter and the crown glass that gives it
a low dispersion (Sinoptix).
 |
| Doublet lens diagram. Image Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Achromat_doublet_en.svg |
The lens is also fixed and has a focus range of 10mm – infinity and a focus length of a 100mm (Art Deco Cameras 2020).
The above the lens to the left-
This is the viewfinders or brilliant finders (see Brownie Model 1 and Brownie No.2 posts). And like the two other Brownie cameras, the Beau has two, one for landscape pictures and the other for portrait pictures.
Then on the side-
Is the landscape brilliant
finder. Under that is the shutter release or the exposure lever.
This sets off the shutter by
pushing the lever down, like the Brownie No.2, but unlike the Brownie No.2, the
Beau’s lever jumps back into its original position once it is let go. The
shutter it uses is the same as the Brownie
Model 1, Brownie
No.2 and the Halina
Roy. That being a Rotary shutter.
At the bottom is one of the
two catches that locks the film compartment.
Unfortunately, this one is
broken.
Next to that is the winding
key or film advance key. This is used to move the film to the next frame once a
picture is taken.
This winding key also locks
the film compartment in place. On the key is also where one can tell what film
this camera uses and what model Beau Brownie it is.
Then on top-
This is where the portrait
brilliant finder is.
Next to that is the two slide controllers, that are similar to the Brownie No.2.
Then the narrower slide
control is the exposure/shutter speed setting. When it isn’t pulled out it set
the camera to the fixed shutter speed of 1/30 second (Art Deco Cameras 2020).
And when it is pulled out it sets it to the B setting. Meaning that the shutter
stays open for as long as the user holds down the shutter/exposure lever.
Next to and behind that is the
second catch that locks the camera.
Then there are the two studs
that holds the strap (that is also missing like the others) in place.
Behind the camera-
Is the film counter window.
Then on the side and the
bottom of the camera are the tripod sockets. One is to align the camera to take
a landscape (side) picture and the other (bottom) for portrait.
Then finally, we have the film
compartment.
This one is different from the
other two Brownies, in that it doesn’t have a latch or cover on the back. But instead,
the film holder/carrier is attached to the front part of the camera. And the
holder is covered up by the metal casing/box.
The film carrier/holder is
similar to the Pucky
1 camera, in that it can’t be taken out and is attached to the front. And
has an image size of 2 ½ x 4 ¼ inches.
Loading the film is the same
as with the other two Brownies, the Pucky 1 and the Ricohflex
IIII. But unlike those cameras, this camera takes a pretty big film stock,
the 116 film.
 |
| 116 film size comparison. Image Source: https://thedarkroom.com/app/uploads/2020/06/Film-Format-Chart-TheDarkroom-2025.5.jpg |
The 116 film is 70mm wide and
was introduced by Kodak in 1899. Then in 1932, came the same size, but slimmer
core, 616 film. Both film stocks were discontinued in 1984 (Film Photography
Project 2025).
 |
| 116 film. Image Source: https://thedarkroom.com/app/uploads/2020/07/116-Film.jpg |
 |
| 616 film. Image Source: https://lightandtimeart.com/cdn/shop/products/il_fullxfull.2734372462_hm5q.jpg?v=1691493433&width=1946 |
 |
| 616 spool (left) and 116 spool (right). Photo by Bryan Chernick. Image Source: https://www.shoot70mm.com/images/616%20and%20116%20spools-web.jpg |
I should also note that for
the folding Brownie cameras, Kodak released the A-116 film, that were the same
as the 116 film but “…but instead of red and black duplex paper, the film was
wound with a sheet of carbon paper and thin red paper. This film used in an
Autographic Kodak camera allowed a brief message to be written on the film in
the space between the pictures. Pressure of a stylus on the backing paper
transferred the carbon to the red paper and light passing through these lines
in the carbon paper would photograph the message onto the film…” (NWMangum).
The 116 film also has a very
interesting and long history. From its use in the war and used in space
exploration, it is amazing what this wide format film has been used for. Please
check out Horton’s (2023) article to get the full story:
https://www.shoot70mm.com/history.html
But I will give you a brief
overview of the 616 film from an excerpt from The Darkroom (2025):
“During the early days of
photography negative size was much more important than now because of the grain
size and thus enlargement limitations. Larger negatives meant sharper pictures
plus the added benefit of contact printing with is printing photos without
having to enlarge it. In 1932 Kodak introduced two new negative format, 620 and
616, the latter being 70 mm wide. The 616 format was the same as the existing
116 film format, but the negative stock was wound on smaller spools in order to
fit smaller cameras, that was, at least officially, the reason for introducing
yet another format. The real reason might have been that Kodak owed the patent
for this roll size and thus was the only one selling film for this format and
when you already own the camera, you need fitting (Kodak) film too, right? The
first “6” comes from “6 pictures per film”. Later versions were longer, and 8
pictures would fit on the film, but the name remained the same. This film
format lasted up to 1984 when it was discontinued. If you respool 120 film onto
116/616 spools, 120 films can be used with cameras designed for 116 and 616, as
can 70mm film. When developing, remember to ask the lab for your 116/616 spools
back or they’ll be thrown away.”
The film has 6 exposures with
a frame size of 6.5 x 11cm (Horton 2023), making it perfect for a carte-de-visite
(Andres 2023). But according to Art Deco Cameras, this camera can take the 8-exposure
film (Art Deco Cameras 2020). The change from 6 exposures to eight when the “…620
and 616 films were designed in 1931, considerable thought was given to the numbering.
These films were for the same picture sizes as 120 and 116 but the spool
diameters were smaller to allow them into thinner cameras. The ‘6’ was to
indicate the number of pictures per roll but by the time this product had
reached the market, the decision had been made to increase the number of
pictures on this size and on sizes 120 and 116 to eight exposures so the ‘6’
became meaningless…” (NWMangum).
Now the reason why the Beau
still says 116 film instead of 616, is because as mentioned this camera came
out in 1930, two years before the release of the 616. But since the 616 is the
same size as the 116, both can be used.
To learn how film works,
please see the Kodak
200 Colorplus post.
And that it the Beau Brownie
No. 2A. What it comes down to is that this camera is a basic box camera, but as
BCG Film and Photography write: “It's Art-Deco design truly reflects the period
it was released. Though it's a basic box Brownie, it is a work of art.”
This camera is perfect for any
household that is going for the art deco look, and it is easy to see where the
name Beau comes from because it is absolutely Beautiful!
What do you think? Would you
display this in your home or are you more into the steampunk look of the Agfa
Billy Record or Falcon
Model F? Let me know in the comments.
And as always, thank you for
making it to the end and I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did researching
it.
If you want to help this site out, please consider joining my Patreon: patreon.com/OnlineCurator
Please see the Please help this site post on this blog, for more information.
Or if you want to help in another way, please visit my Displate Store or my Picfair store to but digital or physical copies of my work. Thank you for the support.
List of sources:
Andres, M. 2023. 116
Cameras – Shooting Wide Aspect Ratio on a Shoestring. https://www.35mmc.com/12/12/2023/116-cameras-shooting-wide-aspect-ratio-on-a-shoestring/#google_vignette
Art Deco Cameras.
2020. Kodak No.2A Beau Brownie. http://www.artdecocameras.com/cameras/kodak/beau-brownie-2a/
Art Deco Cameras.
2020. Restoration of Beau Brownie. http://www.artdecocameras.com/restoration/beau-brownie/
BCG Film and
Photography. No.2A Beau Brownie. https://www.brownie-camera.com/55.shtml
Cuny, D. 2025. Kodak
Beau Brownie Camera. https://www.dancuny.com/camera-collecting-blog/2025/2/26/kodak-beau-brownie-camera
Film Photography
Project. 2025. 116/616 Film. https://filmphotographystore.com/collections/116-616-film
Horton, Z. 2023.
History. https://www.shoot70mm.com/history.html
NWMangum. History of
Kodak Roll Film Numbers. https://nwmangum.com/Kodak/FilmHist.html
Pacific Rim Camera. Kodak
No. 2 and 2A Beau Brownie. https://www.pacificrimcamera.com/pp/kodakbeau.htm
Sinoptix. Doublet
lens: a complete guide. https://sinoptix.eu/doublet-lens-complete-guide/#:~:text=What%20is%20a%20doublet%20lens,is%20also%20a%20common%20name.
Stamler, H. 2022. How
Kodak Created a Fashion Accessory. https://www.neh.gov/article/how-kodak-created-fashion-accessory#:~:text=The%20enormous%20commercial%20success%20of,Teague%2C%20a%20frequent%20Kodak%20collaborator.
The Darkroom. 2025.
116 and 616 roll film. https://thedarkroom.com/film-formats/kodak-116-616-roll-film/
The Henry Ford. 2025. Kodak Beau Brownie Camera, 1930-1933. https://www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-collections/artifact/337223/
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