Summary

Black and white, sepia toned silver gelatin photograph of the Kodak Australasia factory in Abbotsford, Victoria, 1939-1945.

The enlargers featured in the photograph were used for processing microfilmed V-Mail letters at the Kodak factory. These letters had been written by soldiers serving overseas and were then microfilmed to reduce space while transporting them back to Australia. At Kodak in Abbotsford these microfilms were enlarged, printed, cut into separate letters, packed and sent to the soldiers' families to read. This photograph shows the first stage of this process. A series of four photographs show the processing of microfilmed letters at Kodak. See, in order, MM96604, then MM96606, MM96607 and MM96605.

Kodak manufactured and distributed a wide range of photographic products to Australasia, such as film, paper, chemicals, cameras and miscellaneous equipment. Its client base included amateur and professional photographers, as well as specialist medical and graphic art professionals who used photography, x-ray and other imaging techniques.

This photograph is part of the Kodak collection of products, promotional materials, photographs and working life artefacts collected from Kodak Australasia in 2005, when the Melbourne manufacturing plant at Coburg closed down.

Description of Content

The photograph features four pieces of equipment with a double open cylinder structure attached to a base. There are metal rods rising vertically from it and a black box structure attached at the top. The equipment is positioned in a row along a bench with cupboards beneath along the length of a wall. A man is standing in front of one machine to the rear of the image and is inspecting or manipulating the equipment. He is wearing a collar and tie and dark pants and a waistcoat.

Physical Description

Black and white, sepia toned silver gelatin photograph, printed on medium weight paper, landscape format with a white border.

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