Ansco Memo Camera
date: label: date made
content: 1927-1939
name: label: maker
content: Agfa Ansco
notes: label: Description
content: Anco Memo Camera in original suede case and retail box, including Ansco Memo Camera booklet. The camera is rectangular, with a cylindrical viewfinder lens and rectangular carrying clip affixed to its top. The camera body is made of wood covered in hard black leather with metal fixtures, including the viewfinder, film compartment latch, tripod mount on the bottom, a plaque reading "MEMO" on the front, a shutter release on one side, film advance lever and plaque on the back. The plaque on the back reads "MEMO CAMERA / MADE IN THE U.S.A BY AGFA ANSCO / PATENTS IN U.S.A / No. 1,740,279 No. 1,697,492 / No. 1,676,037 Dis. No. 74,211 / PAT. CANADA 1929 / OTHER PATENTS PENDING". The film advance mechanism, mounted on the removable back panel, moves the film down vertically by a sprocket hole catch when the film advance lever is pulled. The interior wall of the back panel is stamped with "PAT. APPLIED FOR." and "81165". The front panel houses a numbered brass dial which counts the number of exposures made on the roll and, beneath the dial, the lens. The lens is a NEX-Ansco Cinemat f/6.3 model with a dial face that allows the user to switch between f-stops 6.3, 8, 11, and 16. Another dial at the top of the lens housing allows for changing between shutter speeds: 25, 50,100, and B. The camera includes a black half-cylinder film canister inside. The camera's carrying case is made of brown suede with a leather strap and a metal button with an ANSCO logo. The camera's retail box is made of cardboard covered in a gray stripe pattern. A label on one of the sides reads "Ansco / Memo Camera / With Soft Suede Case / F 6.3 Anastigmat Lens / Fixed Focus / Agfa Ansco Corporation / Binghamton, N. Y., U.S.A / JN-53 / Reg. U.S. Pat. Off" and bears the blue ink stamp "(E)694". The included booklet, titled "The Ansco Memo Camera: 50 Pictures at one Loading", numbers 55 pages and includes technical details and advice about using the Memo.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: New York, Binghamton
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Photographic History
label: See more items in
content: Photography
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2009.0155.01
label: catalog number
content: 2009.0155.01
label: accession number
content: 2009.0155
objectType: label: Object Name
content: camera
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (camera body material)
label: Physical Description
content: leather (camera body material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (camera body material)
label: Physical Description
content: cardboard (camera box material)
label: Physical Description
content: suede (camera case material)
label: Measurements
content: box: 3 1/8 in x 3 in x 5 7/8 in; 7.9375 cm x 7.62 cm x 14.9225 cm
label: Measurements
content: camera: 5 in x 2 in x 2 3/4 in; 12.7 cm x 5.08 cm x 6.985 cm