George Eastman
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Dry Plate Technology
Eastman was determined to design a better camera, and he continued to tinker with this while still employed at the bank. He read in the British Journal of Photography of experiments with 'dry-plate' technology over the current 'wet plate' technology that exposed a photo onto a glass plate while wet. Eastman hired George Monroe and George Selden to assist him in developing this new technique. In 1880, he teamed with Henry Strong to found the Eastman Dry Plate Company out of Rochester New York to market dry plates.
Eastman and Rolled Film
However, his greatest innovation came next. Eastman next hired William Hall Walker, who, working with a new gelatin based paper film roll, created a device that pushed paper film through a camera roll. Eastman not only perfected dry-plate techniques but the addition of rolled film stored multiple pictures on a lightweight roll which undercut the need for heavy equipment. Officially, in 1888, the Kodak camera was born. Although many debated the origins of the name Kodak, Eastman stated that he chose it simply because the capital 'K' looked neat. In 1892, Kodak officially became the Eastman Kodak Company. Eastman's new rolled film design became the standard design in photography until digital photography came about, which subsequently was also an Eastman Kodak product.
A 1900 Advertisement for a Pocket Kodak Camera
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The Eastman Camera
His invention became an instant success. The camera looked like a mini box whose film roll held 100 photos. The corporate slogan became the catchy 'you press the button, we do the rest.' After 100 photos had been taken, the entire camera was sent to the company, who developed the photos, inserted new film, and then shipped it back to the customer. Eastman constantly created new products. In 1900, the Brownie camera was introduced. It only cost one dollar, making it accessible to everyone including children. He also developed glass lenses for gas masks for the military that were unbreakable. He further developed camera models for use in airplanes. In 1928, he also developed color film.
George Eastman Photo
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Eastman and Edison
Eastman formed a friendship with Thomas Edison and they assisted each other with inventions. Edison, for example, had invented the Kinetoscope, which was an early single-person film device, but the film was poor quality. The two partnered to trim 40 mm film to 35 mm film that became the standard. Eastman improved on this when he hired chemist Henry Reichenbach to develop a nitrocellulose based film that became the standard in Edison's motion picture company. In turn, Edison's incandescent light bulbs created greater lighting scenarios for portrait-based photography.
George Eastman 1954 Commemorative Stamp
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Innovations and Advertising
Eastman was an aggressive advertiser. He advertised his new products in newspapers, periodicals, magazines, and billboards of his day. He was very hands-on and even wrote some of the advertisements himself. Eastman also introduced profit sharing among his employees based on company profits. This thinking was ahead of his time in his day, and it was rooted in the idea that companies should invest in its employees as much as its products.
A 1900 Kodak Camera Advertisement
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Eastman as a Philanthropist
Eastman gave large sums of money to the Rochester Institute of Technology. He donated $20 million to MIT because many of its students worked for him. He also invested large sums into dental clinics both in Rochester and throughout Europe. Eastman argued that better teeth improved self-esteem and improved job prospects. He also pumped large sums of money into the medical school at the University of Rochester. Eastman appreciated fine music and founded the Eastman School of Music to promote music appreciation. In addition to the University of Rochester, he continued to donate financial gifts to M.I.T., Hampton, and Tuskegee College. Eastman, who suffered for many years with a degenerative spinal cord disease, died by suicide in March 1932. The George Eastman House International Museum of Photography in Film in Rochester, New York is the site of his former estate and is the world's oldest photography and film museum.
Interior of the George Eastman House
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Lesson Summary
George Eastman truly went from rags to riches. He dropped out of school to help support his mother, only to end up a millionaire. His innovation with the camera was to improve the dry-plate technique and invent rolled film. From this, the Eastman Kodak Company was born, and his method of rolled film became the worldwide standard until digital photography. The result was making cameras physically smaller, simple to use, and accessible to the non-professional. Eastman was a tireless promoter and harnessed the power of advertising in the print media of his day. Through his partnership with Edison, he is generally credited with making the motion picture industry possible. Eastman also was a progressive businessman and instituted profit-sharing for his employees. Lastly, Eastman became a leading philanthropist and donated millions to charities.
