Figure 1.--These square format snapshots reflect the popularity of the new Kodak Brownie. It was small and compact and could easily be taken along on trips, in this case by a group of Scouts. A simple flash bulb attachment made indoor photography simple. The Brownie greatly influenced family snspshots in America. The boys here are on some kind of Scout trip,probably to or from the Narional Jamboree at Colorado Springs. The Brownie was easy to broing long. I think they are on a train. This square shapshot taken in August 1960 had lightly serrated edges.

Early snapshots were all black and white. With the invention of the Kodak Brownie, America and the world was suddenly deluged with millions of family smapshots. This greatly expanded the photographic record and our ability to follow fashion and historical trends. And we begin to see stardardized paper. This was because the huge number of individuals now taking snapshots created a demand fir photographic paper. And the manufcturers created various paper formats. Some parents dated the snapshots on the back. Most did not. A few had the date printed on them. To archive these snapshots on HBC, we need to date them. Here there are a range of indicators that can help us date these snaspshots. Some can be dated with considerable precession. This is probanly true of American snapshots because of our large archive. The clothing styles and background such as cars can help date the unudated images. Most early snapshots. at least in America, had postcard backs. Eventually snapshots were printed with white borders. These borders and the paper edges can be useful in dating the snapshots. Most early snapshots were done as post cards. They can be dated to an extent by the stamp boxes. By the 1930s we see mostly prints with plain backs as the postcard backs became less common. The prints varied in size, border, edges, and other factors. Commercial color film was developed in the inter-War era, but we do not begin to see large numbers of color snapshots until after well World War II. At first color prints were done with the same format as black-and white prints. Eventually by the 1970s we see color prints begin to replace black-and-white prints. They were generally printed without borders. The variations in prints differed from country to country, although there were some similarities. We are going to use the dated prints to help develop chronological trends for the various variabilities.

The 1900s

Early snapshots were all black and white. With the invention of the Kodak Brownie, America and the world was suddenly deluged with millions of family smapshots. This greatly expanded the photographic record and our ability to follow fashion and historical trends. And we begin to see stardardized paper. This was because the huge number of individuals now taking snapshots created a demand fir photographic paper. And the manufcturers created various paper formats. Many early snapshots. at least in America, had postcard backs. We also see them in Canada and mny Europoean countries. This began in America during 1904 and the stamp boxes and other features can help date the impages. We see both snapo shots and studio portraits wuth postcard backs. These studio repolace replace whst eould have been earlier done as cbinety cards.

The 1910s

Most early snapshots were done as post cards and this was still very common in the 1920s. Eventually snapshots were printed with white borders. We note postcard back photographs done for both snap shots and studio portraits. The studio portraits did not hve hite borders. The snapshots images somerimes did not fit the rectangular shape of the postcard. Commercial postcards appeared with ewhite borders, but we do not notice this with weither the snapshot or the studio portraits with postcard backs.

The 1920s

The 1930s

By the 1930s we see mostly prints with plain backs as the postcard backs became less common. Commercial color film was developed in the inter-War era, but we do not begin to see large numbers of color snapshots until after well World War II. At first color prints were done with the same format as black-and white prints.

The 1940s

Amateur photography in the 1940s was affected by World War II. Soldiers took their cameras to war, especially German soldiers. This was in part because photography was so popular in Germany and so many soldiers had camera. Also military regulations about cameras were less stringently enforced by the Wehrmacht, we think reflecting the triumphant nature of the early years of the War. Military authorities began to think that they had nmuch to worry about. War time shortages made it very difficult for individuals to obtain color film which at any rate was very expensive. Black-and-white film, hpwever, seems readily available in most countries. After the War, the devestated economies and difficult economic conditions curtailed a wide range of activities, including photography. We note some very small, almost postage stamp-sized prints. This was especially common in Germany. The size of snapshot prints varied. The most common size/format (aspect ratio) seems to have been about 3 x 5 inches, but there were many different sizes. Prints had white margins. Prints with serrated edes continued to be common in the 1940s. We note them in several different countries. Our archive is limited at a few countries at this time at least in large numbers of images. We note these serated edges in both North America (the United States) and Europe (Germny). Hopefully readers will provide insights about snap shot trends in their country. The American snapshot taken in 1949 on the previous page is a good example. We also note straight-cut edges. We do not yet have a good feel as to the relative prevalence of the serrated/straight edges.

The 1950s

Kodak released a new expendive Brownie camera. With a fixed lens it simplified photography and could be easily taken everywhere. The film used a square format. Thus we begin to see large numbers of square format snapshots in America. Until the Brownie it was mostly dads who took the family snapshots. With the Brownie mom and the kids joinefd in wiuth the fun.

The 1960s

We note many square snapshots in the 1960s. This relates to the continued populrity of the new Kodak Brownies. Many Mosdt prints had white borders both with and without serrated edges. The Ametican Boy Scout image here in 1960 was a good example (figure 1). Some times the date was printed on the border, simplifying the daring process.

The 1970s

Eventually by the 1970s we see color prints begin to replace black-and-white prints. They were generally printed without borders.

The 1980s

The 1990s

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Created: 6:21 AM 6/3/2011
Last updated: 6:11 PM 7/2/2012