Vest Pocket Kodak & The First World War, The: Camera & Conflict

by Jon Cooksey, Jon Cooksey

When one thinks about the First World War, one doesn’t immediately imagine the soldiers recording the horrors of trench warfare by taking snaps with their pocket cameras. But that is exactly what happened. The Vest Pocket Kodak & The First World War is the first in a series of books documenting the relationship between conflicts and the iconic cameras that were used to freeze-frame forever those moments in time. Launched in April 1912, the Vest Pocket Kodak was one of the world’s first compact cameras. About the height and width of today’s iPhone, it was small enough to fit into the pocket of a waistcoat (the American ‘vest’) and became something of a craze on the eve of the war. It was advertised as the ‘Soldier’s Kodak’ and troops were encouraged to ‘Make your own picture record of the War.’ With the military banning journalists from reporting early setbacks in the war, newspaper editors offered soldiers a prize for their VPK photographs of £1,000 – over ten times a lieutenant’s salary. The images they preserved offer us a remarkably personal viewpoint, and create a fascinating link between the camera and the conflict. The first half of the book sets the technology and timeline of the camera against those of the war. It looks at how the Vest Pocket Kodak was developed and advertised, and tells the story of its significance in creating a unique visual account of the Great War. The second half presents a commemorative album of images taken with the camera, a remarkable record of a lost generation, and a tragic reflection of the manufacturer’s advertising ‘Kodak pictures never let you forget.’

96 pages, Hardcover

Published October 1, 2017

About the author

Jon Cooksey is a leading military historian who takes a special interest in the history of the world wars. He is the editor of Stand To!, the journal of the Western Front Association, and an experienced battlefield guide. His books include The Barnsley Pals, Calais, Harry’s War and, as editor, Blood and Iron.

Reviews

[Diogo Moreira]

De ter a História na mão a entender o seu impacto no mundo.

Sendo proprietário de uma Vest Pocket Kodak de primeira edição, com mais de 100 anos, este livro foi uma leitura absolutamente fascinante. Para mim, como entusiasta de fotografia, poder segurar um pedaço de História real e, em simultâneo, compreender ao detalhe o seu funcionamento, a sua engenharia e o papel crucial que desempenhou na Primeira Guerra Mundial é simplesmente delicioso.

O autor faz um trabalho incrível a conectar a técnica do equipamento com o impacto humano e histórico da fotografia de conflito. Um livro indispensável para colecionadores, curiosos de fotografia vintage e amantes de história militar.

[Bryan Whitehead]

Reading this book was like lingering in an excellently-curated museum exhibit about the title subject. The text was concise and the illustrations copious. Though several sections left we wanting to know more about their topics, overall the coverage was comprehensive. In a war famous for inventing new ways of killing, there’s a wonderfully human quality to the simultaneous introduction of new ways of seeing and recording (not to mention camera marketing).