KODAK.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 511, 19 May 1909, Page 2

KODAK.

THE MARCH OF A GREAT INDUSTRY. Mr. J. J.,Rouse,; of Sydney, who ib at present visiting Wellington, was a member of tho Bakor and House Proprietary, Ltd., now absorbed into Australian Kodak, Ltd., of which company Mr. House is managing director. Yesterday he was interviewed by a roXircscntativo of the Dominion. "It is my first visit to Wellington," ho said, "although I have passed through ■ Auckland occasionally to and from America. Yes, I liko the country. It is quite without affectation that I pass tho opinion that your scenery is superb. It lias novolty, it has character, it has a distinctive charm that I lind it'difficult to define. I have been pretty well every where, with tho exception of Japan and Hussia. I know Australia and Tasmania thoroughly.. I am familiar with Switzerland. 1 have never seen scenery that impresses and moves mo more than Now Zealand scenery does. Tho northern. approaches to, Dunedin aro superb, tho city itself'is fine and convincing. This city of Wellington, too, this city that stands so solidly and confidently amid its sentinel hiEs: it is all very impressive -and noble, it grows on oho. One hears much of Now Zealand, scenery, and I cannot conceiyo that anybody witlroyes and imagination can over bo disappointed with it. And'l assure you (with pardonable pride) that tho kodak has taught tho world more about New Zealand than all ' your advertisements, lecturers, and ' bluebooks have done. "Since tho formation of our Australian company, wo bavo set to work really to introduce the' Kodak; -Wo'shall put it everywhere; Here in Wellington we shall supply all photographic apparatus to photographers and the dealers from our central house in Mercer Strco't. Our speciality is tho kodak. As far as cameras are concerned,. there is only one true kodak—tluv Eastman. Tho outstanding feature of kodak photography is that it is'daylight photograpny all tho, way. Wo have made it our business to re- ; movo every bugbear from the path of the.; amateur. It has proved to bo a big under-' taking; but I need not'go into that now. ."Think back a little, and you will find : yourself marvelling at tho'tremendous strides photography has made within' a very brief period. It is still almost it neV.tiling; aS tirno goes; but what other: ftpir tiling Came so speedily to perfection ?. As recefiiyj as iB6O we started iVlth tli4 daguerreetpyo,, We passed■■'speeflily item that tfl the Wet-' plftte j)r«eess, .wlliell fflSde it Beegssary for tho phtrtjographer: to daffy a feritftblo' hoUetf 'about with him.'". Rapid pntgtees was roads to' all the CTioellent developments' of modern: dry-plato photography. And so wo came to tho latest modem filin-photograpliy—which, thanks to Eastman, has .boen mado as perfect as science at this stage can mako it; .Tho kodak film of .to-day is isochromatic, and is backed, to prevent; halation of: all kinds. Eastman, in short, started with the imperfect systems of twenty-fivo years ago. and from that has gone on to the wondorlul kodak system of 1909, every process assured,, 'every process completed in full daylight. It seemed impossible a few years agotliat any man' could banish tho dark room. Eastman has banished it. . "Yes, it is only fivo-and-twonty years sinco Eastman started in Rochester,'New 1 York, Ho started in a Bmall way, with a' small roll-film camera..' The' business, was conducted ontirely by Mr. George Eastman himself. He made tho first kodak, and took a - hundred pictures on a stripping film. If you know tho strippiug-fihn—tho nasty mossi-ness,-.tho slowness, the infinitb tcdiousness ' of it—you would bettor understand bow great the progress has been. Ho was a man who' 1 knew his business and.was definite in his aims. Ho just had to succeed, because all the finest elements of success wore vital in him. To-day tho Eastman Kodak Company has a working capital of £5,500,000 sterling, and a paid-up', capital of' £7,000,000. Those figures talk, and the success for which those,figures stand,has all been achieved; solely ~by tho; Eatman principal of taming out none but goods-of the latest and-highest quality. ~, ~;.,,/•.■,-/.,'ii-:'".iii-:: ~!.:■.'. . "Lot me give you one or two other fact! to spur imagination. The Kodak Company, makes and furnishes .no less thanmno-i tenths of tho world's supply :of lrinematcgraph film. Do you realise what that means?. It means that the great mass of machinery > that is used in the making of that class of, film has never stopped work for three years past, not oven on a Fourth of July.. Ewsnj thorp the company is not satisfied. The ordinary kinematograph film is nrflanmrablo and explosive, always dangerous. Our company is now introducing the non-inflam-mablo, non-explosive film, which will assure absoluto safety for all cinematographio work. The new .film; will not -'burn if you put: a match' 'to it. ,'.'. .. . * "I'coplo really have no idea how completely photography and tho kodak havo overrun; the earth. A little, while, ago' thero was brought to our attention the' fact that a largo number of the pilgrims to Jerusalem carry kodaks. More recently, wo have como across a fact yet moro interesting and significant. A few; years, ago, good Muslims would not ho photographed—would not submit to any style' of portraiture. To-day, good Muslims are carrying kodaks on their pilgrimago to Mecca. The photographs of Mecca, the spot regarded as most sacred in all tho realm of Islam, are taken by orthodox; Muslims; and tho cameras aro made in Rochester, Now York, '; . ' " "Thero is no spot on; earth in. which you shall' not. find the, kodak to-day. It has penetrated, the most inaccessible fastnesses of Thibet.' It has boen as near as any man has trod to both the Poles. It has become so widely popular, among the Chinese that, wo havo been compelled to open a big wholesale depot in China. There is senrcoly. a spot on. the wide earth where •it has not done its work. It is sold by our agents and customers wherever ah agent;can plant.'his foot. You can' buy .it in Rekjavik or Vladivostok, just as you can buy, it.in London or Berlin. ■ "Tho astonishing V success of this great enterprise, is also due, in great.',, part, to the fact that tho.Kodak Company has, steadily. held in view the needs and limitations of the amateur and tho tourist; Wo have hugo dealings with professional photographers, but it is with, the non-profes- : sionals that the immenso body of our. trade is done. Wo havo had to think first, of what the ordinary man wants. With that .tnd, tho Kodak Company .-. has ; insisted always on three main things j 'officiency, sini? plicity, compactness.; A child can operate a kotkfc. In point;of fact ; some'.of tho finest and most striking specimens of kodak photography that wo . have collected -have been tho work.of children. It is a remarkable fact that with tho kodak processes, tho nearer wo get" to perfection tho closer wo get to simplicity. With ■ tho daylight sys l , tern, a.child can take a perfect.photograph, develop it, and print it, with absoluto; case.. "That, I think, is a great thing. The use of the camera is, abovo all things, educational. ■; It induces habits of intelligent ob-so.-vation. Many things otherwiso unnoticed" are appreciated at their values. And it givos young people (and older people, who sometimes need to be-taught) that stimulus that/results in a healthy love of the open air and Wide spaces; Tho camera \is the worst enemy of stuffiness. "My hobby? Well, yes. 1 bavo been closely and constantly connected with photography sinco 1880. 1 have found keen delight in watching the evolution of photogrnphio art. Tho pasty and vapid old prints of twenty years ago havo disappeared..' Nowhere on earth havo I seen photographs better than those shown' by tho professional photographers'of Now Zealand. "Photography .is no- longer an expensivo hobby. You can buy.. kodak cameras from six shillings up.' Thero will bo a notablo reduction in tho Now Zealand prices of all our specialities in, a week or two. Where there is a certain profit to bo mado, wo would sooner make it on two cameras than limit tho sale to one. There is no reason on earth why every house; in tho world should not own a photogrnphio outfit. Tliat is what we're after. ; ; "And, really, when one comes to regard: the progress photography has made, who can limit the possibilities of : tho future? What is the Twentieth Century going, to bring us? Just ahead aro the'.Gnuhraliing possibilities of colour-photography. . Tlioro is no saying whero this now end popular art of kinomatography is to end. All i<i that tho present is lriud to Us, and'all tho prospects, are highly encouraging. What can a modest company ask moro?"