Popular Camera Cases of the 1930s

Hard and Soft, Zippered and Strapped, Cases Were Varied in the 1930s

May 6, 2009

A protective carrying case was essential for the photographer of the 1930s. Cases were made in a variety of styles and held a myriad of attachments, accessories and film.

Common sense demands that adequate protection should be given to precision instruments such as cameras. In the 1930s, there were cases for cameras, lenses, filters, tripods, exposure meters, flash equipment and finders. Each was designed to fill a particular need, and carrying all of them could burden a photographer. The ideal for amateur photographers was the Eveready Case, designed so that the camera stayed securely anchored while in use.

Eveready Camera Cases Attached Directly to the Camera

Most Eveready cases used the tripod screw adapter as a means to secure the camera directly to the bottom of the case. A front flap was either unzipped or unsnapped and the camera was ready for use. These were mostly hard leather and were made by many camera companies, including Leica, Contax, Argus, Agfa Ansco, Eastman Kodak, and Speedex. This kind of case was by far the most expensive. In addition to the dropping front flap, most cases had an adjustable strap, a tripod socket, film winder and counter. Sometimes photographers would cut their own holes into the cases to accommodate a certain accessory.

Snap or Zip-Top Purse Cases Were Less Expensive

Zip-top purse cases and snap cases required the photographer to remove the camera from the case before shooting photographs. Since they were not attached to the camera in any manner, they tended to interfere with ease of operation. One innovation of the era was the Kodak Ektra, which used a double-ended neck strap to attach to both the camera and the case, allowing the case to fall free from the camera without getting lost or dropped. It also had extra room at each side of the lens for carrying film, filters or other small items.

Accessory Cases and Gadget Bags

A common sight in the 1930s was a photographer overloaded with too many cases, because each instrument had its own custom-built case. There were gadget bags, fitted cases, filter cases, flash equipment cases, range and view finder cases and several more.

Some of the more popular cases were the Kodak Filter Case (which held six small filters and a Pola-Screen, two adapters and a lens shade), the Leica Filter Case (which was lightweight and slender and attached to a matching camera case at the base of the neck strap) and the Kodak Duplex Case (which held a Six-20 or smaller model, film, portrait attachment, range finder and more).

Vintage camera cases from the 1930s sell briskly on Internet auction sites and other websites. Collectors often buy cameras and accessories and attachments without cases, and then must search diligently to locate the proper case. There is something intrinsically satisfying about slipping an old camera from the 1930s into a case that was specifically designed just for it.

The copyright of the article Popular Camera Cases of the 1930s in Collectibles is owned by Marie Brannon. Permission to republish Popular Camera Cases of the 1930s in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.