Camera Collection

We recently dusted off our photo camera collection. Interest in old cameras,
around the world, is alive and well, therefore not too many such cameras are
rare or valuable (in dollar terms). We do however have in our collection a
notable specimen. The Kodak Medalist II (1946). There were two models
made in the 1940’s and we appear to have a fine example of the revised
model. The design and construction of the Medalist II was a radical departure
from the Kodak consumer camera range. There seems to be no other
camera of its kind from that era.
Although it was commercially available, the Medalist II was made for and
used by, the U.S. military. It was made for rugged use, its casing was mostly
black, it used a large format film (620) and the optics were superior to
anything before it.
During the War Years, steel and aluminium were at a premium but no
expense was spared to make this a solid, reliable camera and it was during
this time that a black veneer was applied to most of the body, revealing less
reflective surface and thus more suited to military recognisance.
Unfortunately, we have no history on our Medalist II but as its manufacture
was near to the end of the War, it may not have seen action.

......(Thanks to Jay Sider for this contribution)

1910 Estey Parlour Organ

You will no doubt be aware of the organ in the Museum. It is a 1910 Estey
Reed Organ. We couldn’t find an exact match on the Estey website but
we’re reasonably sure this would have been referred to as a ‘Parlour ‘model. This was Home Entertainment 100 years ago. Our Estey is 100 years old - Happy Birthday!
We offer Bob Wilson, a visitor to the Museum, our sincere thanks for applying his expertise to restoring it to full ‘playability’.

Bob is a professional restorer but has graciously given his time to clean the organ and get it playing again. From him, we’ve now learnt how to effect basic maintenance in order to keep it in good playable condition. If any members can
play the organ, come in and blow the cobwebs away! Bob recently completed a restoration on a similar organ in an old church at Hill End. His next little job will be to join a small team of experts who will be undertaking a thorough cleaning of the grand organ at the Sydney Town Hall. Bob also commented on the organ in
the Cottage - he likes it. We don’t know much about it so more research is
required to establish the maker and year of manufacture. We’ll keep you
posted. Once again, our thanks to Bob for his time and effort.

........(and thanks to Jay Sider for this contribution)