My father's camera

In my recent search for photos of the Christmas trees of my childhood, I found instead my father's old camera!  

I remember this camera clearly.  It popped open, with accordion-like folds, when Daddy prepared to take a picture.

The old camera had been stored in a box with lots of old photos, but unfortunately no photos of our early Christmases were included.

The camera is still in pretty good shape.  It's a Jiffy Kodak Six-20, which used 620-roll film. It was made by the Eastman Kodak company in the 1930s.

I opened it gingerly and took these photos of it to share here.

This camera even had a little stand and a setting for delaying the shutter, so that my father could set it up and then run to join us in the picture.  He liked to do that!












 I have written this month's column about Daddy's camera and my discovery of why there are so few photos of the inside of our home.

See Remembering my father's camera.

I also found a little instruction booklet that accompanied the camera.  In the back is a PRICE LIST!  A roll of film cost 25 cents and contained 8 exposures.    

1937-38 Xmas trees

One of my cousins, Dave Brewster, recently scanned and shared these old photos of the Christmas trees at Pine Knoll, the Nichols family home in Hathorne (Danvers).  The photos were taken in 1937 and 1938, well before my time, but I recognize the scene and many of the decorations, which continued to be used year after year.

1938 Pine Knoll sitting room

1937 Christmas tree at Pine Knoll

Thanks, Dave, for the photos!  

Christmas trees

Remembering the Christmas trees of my childhood is the theme of my December column:
   Christmas trees small and large.

I've been looking for photos to post here.  The search has led to boxes of slides and prints in closets, the attic, and odd corners, but so far no photos of the little trees of my childhood.  Meanwhile, a cousin has helped by scanning older family photos (see next post).

I'm still looking for photos of the Christmas trees in our home in the late 1940's or early 1950's.  I did find this image of our little house (mailed out as a Christmas postcard with the message "Greetings from 120 Nichols Street" in my father's handwriting):

 

And this outside photo (below) from mid 1950's... Jean and I with skis, and note the squirrel track across the roof!    

The window on the left is in the living room window; Jean's bedroom on right.   Our Christmas tree would not have been visible in this view.  It was on top of a narrow table on the left edge of the livingroom, visible only through a window on that south side.