Eastman Kodak folding camera used by James Pitkeathly

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Type: Cameras
Materials: Glass, Leather, Metal - non specific, Wood
Collection: James Pitkeathly collection no. 1
Accession number: 2013.0022.0025

Description

An Eastman Kodak folding camera with a metal body with a glass lens; a black leather bellows; and a rectangular black leather covered case, featuring a hidden button at the top which releases a hinged fold down panel. When open this reveals the camera body, where part of the text on the inner lens surround reads 'TB 25 50 100 / ... PATENTED / 1910 / JAN.18 / ... BROWNIE BALL BEARING / MADE BY EASTMAN KODAK Co. ROCHESTER, N.Y. U.S.A ...'. The case is numbered '99297' on the base, and text stamped on the leather handle reads 'NO. 3-A FOLDING BROWNE'.

This cameras was probably acquired by Pitkeathly in the early 1920s and used throughout this decade and into the 1930s. Pitkeathly's memoirs mention having and using a camera while working at Aberdare South Colliery 1920 – 1925. He also photographed much of his life and the mining operations while working in Borneo and Malaya until 1930. His annotated photograph albums are also part of this collection.

About the collection

This collection consists of approximately 58 items relating to the life of James Pitkeathly (1895 - 1997), a Scottish migrant who worked as a mine manager and surveyor in the Hunter Valley, central Queensland and South East Asia. Pitkeathly also served in the Australian Infantry Force on the Western Front from 1916 - 1919. When James Pitkeathly migrated to Australia the 'White Australia Policy' had been in place for over a decade. Potential British migrants were encouraged to come to Australia and offered assisted passages to do so. Pitkeathly brought with him much sought after coal mining skills and throughout his career worked in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales and Bowen Basin, Queensland, two regions significant in the expansion of Australia's coal mining industry. During the 1920s Pitkeathly was employed by the Malayan Collieries Ltd and he worked in Borneo and British Malaya. This collection offers insight into the economic significance of the Australian coal industry and the development of major towns such as Newcastle as well as the experiences of a skilled Australian working and living in South East Asia. This collection also explores the life of Australian soldier embroiled in trench warfare on the Western Front during the First World War.

Read live from the Museum's Collection API (12/11/2026, 6:52:33 am). Record last updated by the Museum 2025-02-19. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.