"Bantam Special"

1936

Not on view

Walter Dorwin Teague was one of the first industrial designers in America. In the 1930s, he was introduced by Richard Bach, a curator at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, to the Eastman Kodak Company, for which he developed the Bantam Special camera in 1936. One in a line of lightweight cameras manufactured by the company, the Bantam Special combined a number of design elements typical of the era. The horizontal lines drew upon an American focus on streamlining, while the curved edges recalled art moderne. The Bantam was smaller than most cameras of the period, because Kodak had developed a special unperforated film for the Bantam series that required less space than the standard 35 mm sprocketed film. Teague designed the protective clamshell casing, which made the Bantam Special one of the first pocket cameras.

Artwork Details

Title: "Bantam Special"
Designer: Walter Dorwin Teague (American, Decatur, Indiana 1883–1960 Flemington, New Jersey)
Manufacturer: Eastman Kodak Co. (American)
Date: 1936
Medium: Metal, enamel
Dimensions: 3 1/4 × 5 × 2 in., 1 lb. (8.3 × 12.7 × 5.1 cm, 0.5 kg)
Classification: Machines & Appliances
Credit Line: John C. Waddell Collection, Gift of John C. Waddell, 2002
Object Number: 2002.585.14
Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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"Embassy" Stemware - Parfait glass, Walter Dorwin Teague American, Glass — "Embassy" Stemware - Parfait glass
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