It has taken five years to develop, with a team of hundreds and a budget of at least $150 million, with another $100 million on top for marketing. That’s a lot of cash, but as the anticipated sales for the first month alone are one billion dollars; it seems like a profitable undertaking.

It has certainly been hotly anticipated. Here is one of many queues of people who were waiting for it to be available at midnight:

I have recently watched the most intense forty five minutes of television (or film) I have ever experienced. It’s more than an hour since I finished watching but my heart rate is still elevated and my mind is racing. It could only be Breaking Bad, and the episode that was aired on Sunday called “Ozymandias”.

There are two episodes left before the series finale; not sure my emotions can take much more.

When George Eastman resigned from his banking job in 1881 and decided to pursue photography, his family must have been disappointed. He was a rising star in the bank; and to give that up to become involved in the nascent camera industry must have seemed rather foolish. History shows that it was actually an excellent decision.

His first cameras featured dry plate backs which, although more convenient than wet plate photography, still required considerable effort to transport and process. But Eastman saw the future lay in roll film and in 1888 he launched the first Kodak camera.

For $25, you would receive the camera loaded with 100 shots on a roll film, and when you were done, you sent the camera back to Kodak for processing and loading of another film; and you paid $10 for that service.

In spite of the high price, sales were brisk, and Kodak released a number of different models in the next few years.

Meanwhile, over in Boston, the imaginatively named Boston Camera Company produced the Bulls-Eye camera (note to genuinej, blame Boston Camera for leaving out the apostrophe). This was the first camera in the world to use a paper backing on the film, on which was written the exposure numbers; and owners could read off the shot number through a little red window in the back of the camera.

Eastman saw that this was a feature that should be incorporated in all cameras, so he bought the Boston company and in 1896 Kodak announced its own Bulls-Eye camera. The 1896 model had a wooden frame and brass fittings and cost $8. Over the years there were variations on the camera, but the brass fittings were replaced with something that wasn’t brass; and an extremely basic version featuring the extensive use of cardboard was released in 1900 as The Brownie (price:$1), and sold a staggering 150,000 in the first year. Photography as a hobby for everyone (and Ansel Adams) had begun.

You can find the Bulls Eye on eBay, but most have very shabby cases (hardly surprising given the age), some have pieces missing or a non-functioning shutter, many are more recent models without the brass fittings.

A typical eBay offering:

I was lucky to find one that was complete, functioning and with a case that looked dirty and a bit faded in places, but salvageable.

So yesterday I set to work. First some warm water with a drop of detergent, applied with a toothbrush. Did not want to soak the covering so just did enough to remove the worst of the grime; and it was indeed very dirty. Don’t think it had been cleaned in 107 years. Next, with a different toothbrush (she who must be obeyed will never notice), I rubbed in some saddle soap (thank you Peter) which conditioned the leather(ette) and removed more grime. Finally, I rubbed in some black shoe creme to bring back the original colour.

Then I took Brasso to some of the brass bits. At a later time I will remove all the brass and treat and clean it properly; but yesterday’s polish was a start. The pegs supporting the handle were probably originally painted black; but as most of that had rubbed off, I decided to give them a shine.

I can, and do, spend many a happy evening browsing through eBay. My favourite hunting ground is the old cameras section, where all manner of interesting machines can be found. Occasionally I find something that takes my fancy, languishing at a low starting price and with no bids. So I stick in a low bid and go to bed, knowing full well that others will have been all over it while I sleep and knocked the price into sensible territory and beyond.

And so it was last week. A camera of some vintage which seemed to be in remarkable condition for its age and with all parts intact and working, but there were five hours till the end of bidding and no action as yet. I stuck in my futile low bid and retired to bed. Most surprised to wake up the following morning and discover it was mine!

It appears not to have been cleaned since it was new; so I am going to spend some time tidying it up. There is leather and brass and wood to address; but I am hoping the end result will be charming. Once it is finished, I will photograph it extensively; but here is a taster:

I have previously mentioned my angel of a dentist, “previously” being about two years ago. I did have a very early draft tentative plan to visit her again for a checkup next month; but next month conveniently fails to arrive.

But my upper left gum started to develop some pain. I decided to wait until next week because I was confident that it would go away. After several next weeks went by and it just got worse, I decided I had to pay a visit to the house of pain.