Life, 1924-09-04 · page 27 of 36
Life — September 4, 1924 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **full-page advertisement** for Eastman Kodak's Ciné-Kodak home movie camera system, not political satire. The image shows a person operating a motor-cranked camera on a tripod while filming a rider on horseback jumping a fence. The ad promotes the revolutionary concept of **amateur home filmmaking**: ordinary people can now record family, friends, and activities, then project them at home using the Kodascope projector. The tagline "You press the button; we do the rest" emphasizes ease of use. Key selling points include: - Simple operation (just aim and press) - 80% cost savings versus standard film cameras - Access to professional content through rental libraries - Finished prints handled by Eastman experts For modern readers: this represents **early consumer video technology** (1920s-era), equivalent to today's smartphones enabling personal content creation and sharing. The novelty was making cinema accessible to everyday people, not professionals.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE MOTOR CRANKS THE CAMERA Movies you make yourself There’s something new in photography—a new pleasure and a fascinating one—motion pictures the Kodak way. With the same ease that you make ordinary snapshots you can now film movies of your family, your friends, your sports and pleasures, and show them on the screen in your own home. The camera is the Ciné-Kodak, and to operate it all you do is train the lens and press the button. A motor cranks the camera and gets the scene in action. The projector is the Kodascope—also Eastman-made—and it not only allows you to show your own movies but pro- fessional releases as well. Through Kodascope Libraries, Inc., you can rent for Kodascope projection famous feature films, Charlie Chaplin comedies, anima- ted cartoons and travel scenes, and show them in your own home. Motion pictures the Kodak way means a saving of 80 per cent. over cameras using standard width film, and when you buy Ciné-Kodak film you've paid for the finishing by Eastman ex- perts. You press the button; we do the rest. Ciné-Kodak booklet and full information by mail, on request. Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N.Y ., rie Kodak city comicbooks.com