Imperial Camera Corporation Mark XII Flash1957

History

Imperial Camera Corporation was founded in Chicago in the late 1940s and specialized throughout its existence in producing the lowest-cost cameras available on the American market. The company's business model depended on five-and-dime retail distribution -- cameras priced at USD 1-3 that could be impluse-purchased alongside film at a Woolworth counter -- rather than the specialty photo retail channels where Kodak and Argus competed.

The Mark XII Flash was introduced in the mid-to-late 1950s as Imperial's response to the Kodak Brownie Hawkeye Flash Model, which had established consumer expectation for PC flash synchronization in the budget box camera segment. The Mark XII added a PC port and, in some configurations, a simple reflector bracket, matching the Hawkeye's feature set at a lower price point. Optical and mechanical quality are noticeably lower than the Kodak equivalent.

Imperial continued producing similar box cameras into the early 1960s, when the shift to 126 Instamatic cartridge film -- also introduced and controlled by Kodak -- effectively ended the market for 620 box cameras. The Imperial Savoy and related models followed the Mark XII; the company eventually transitioned to making Instamatic-style cameras before ceasing operation.

Why It Matters

The Imperial Mark XII Flash is of limited photographic significance but considerable sociological interest. It represents the deepest penetration of photography into the American consumer market before Kodak's 126 Instamatic system made even this level of complexity obsolete. The camera's buyers were households for whom even a Brownie Hawkeye at USD 8-10 was a considered purchase; an Imperial at USD 2-3 was an impulse buy.

Toy camera and lomography communities have occasionally adopted Imperial cameras for their extreme optical softness and unpredictable vignetting, though the Imperial lacks the cultural cachet of the Diana or Holga. The square 620 format and meniscus rendering produce images with a soft, vignetted, period character that some photographers seek deliberately.

The camera also illustrates the 620 film format's position as a Kodak proprietary lock-in strategy: by the late 1950s, even the lowest-tier competitors -- including Imperial -- were using Kodak's proprietary spool format rather than the more widely available 120.

Sample Photographers / Notable Use

• The Imperial Mark XII Flash was sold through variety and five-and-dime stores rather than photo retailers; it has no documented association with named photographers or specific photographic projects.
• The camera is referenced in histories of American mass-market photography as an example of the low end of the postwar consumer camera market, competing primarily on price against the Kodak Brownie line.

References

• Camera-Wiki: Imperial Camera Corporation -- company history and model overview

Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.