Kodak's Digital Journey

The Eastman Kodak Company (Kodak) was founded in Waterville, New York, by George Eastman (Eastman) in 1881. His father's sudden death forced Eastman to discontinue his education at the age of 13. He was interested in photography and learned to take pictures. In those days, the wet plate process was used in photography. The photographic images were made on heavy, fragile glass plates that were inserted into the back of the camera. These plates were coated with a wet emulsion just before each picture was taken. Developing could be done only in complete darkness and it took more than twenty minutes to take one photograph.

By the end of 1882, the company had generated enough revenue to set up a new factory in Tennessee to produce a steady supply of materials for making films. In 1884, Eastman came up with another innovation -- a roll of photographic film to replace the fragile glass photographic plates. During the same time, Strong and Eastman established the Eastman Dry Plate and Film Company in Rochester, New York. Eastman extensively advertised in leading photography magazines to promote his new company and the photographic film. By the late 1880s, Eastman was focusing on manufacturing compact cameras. He again promoted his new camera through aggressive advertising, using slogans like "You press the button and we do the rest"...