Brownie Six 16 Restoration

A while back, my mother had sent me a box of vintage cameras that her father left her. Most were intact and in great condition. However, the Brownie Junior was not so lucky. The back had fallen off, the lenses were dirty, the inside filled with dust, and the film housing was rusting over.

So, I got to work. I took the entire thing apart and began to repair it. First, I glued the main body back together. I placed a piece of dark red gel in the hole where the film viewer used to be since it had lost the glass piece. I cleaned up the leather covering and removed rust from the winder and two knobs on top. After which I spray painted the whole thing with a flat black (inside and out) and covered it with a clear coat.

I then set my sites on the film housing and front panel. I took everything apart. I removed the mirrors and viewfinders and cleaned them thoroughly. The front panel was also rather simple. I cleaned the lenses and removed rust from the back. I shined up the art deco front as well.

The housing was a different story. The entire thing was covered in rust. After a few hours of removing rust and sanding and smoothing, I had restored the housing. I spray painted this as well (mainly because the rust/sanding and removed much of the paint) with a flat black and clear coat.

I put everything back together and it now appears ready for pictures. I hope to get a roll of 120 and rig it for this camera and take some pictures soon. For now, it will rest on my shelf with its fellow cameras.

Just some info on the camera itself. The Brownie Junior went into production in 1934 and stopped production in 1942. It sold for around $2.75 (or $37 today). The camera used Kodak 616 roll film (which is no longer made); however, it can be made to use the current 120 roll film. You can locate a manual of this camera here. The Brownie line of cameras helped to bring about the snapshot by being an inexpensive camera. To show that you did not need an expensive camera to take good pictures, Bert Hardy photographed an image of two women sitting on a railing overlooking an ocean.