Young bank clerk George Eastman founded a company in 1880 to manufacture photographic dry plates in Rochester, New York. He obtained financing and engaged in research with a goal of simplifying photography. His breakthrough, in 1883, was the creation of film in roll form, for the first time allowing multiple exposures with a single loading. In 1888 he created a small plain black box camera that had a pushbutton to take pictures and a key to advance the film. Sold pre-loaded with a roll of 100 shots, this was the first Kodak camera. There was no way to focus and no viewfinder; the user held the box and aimed it at the desired subject. After using all 100 exposures, the photographer sent the whole camera to the Eastman Company in Rochester for developing, printing, and reloading at a cost of $10. The product's first advertising slogan, "You press the button - we do the rest," reflected this process.

The name "Kodak" had no meaning; Eastman created the brand name for reasons he summarized in his British patent application: "First. It is short. Sec ... Read more »