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Coronet Midget |
 Version française |
Manufactured or assembled in United Kingdom from 1935 to 1939.
Index of rarity in France: Rare (among non-specialized garage sales)
Inventory number: 7317
See the complete technical specifications
Chronology of cameras Coronet
The Midget camera was introduced to the market in 1934-35 at a price of 5 shillings 6 pence and was also used as a gift in breakfast cereal packages. It's a small camera made of bakelite, weighing between 60 to 70 grams depending on the version. It's equipped with a simple 10/29 mm meniscus lens provided by Taylor, Taylor, and Hobson. The shutter is very simple, with a single speed (1/30). The film used is specific, a 16 mm coil, yielding 6 frames of 13 x 18 mm.
It comes in several colors (black, brown, lime green, olive, pink, red, blue). The base bakelite is black, and the other colors are achieved by mixing colored powder with the black base powder. Intentionally unevenly mixed powders result in mottled or marbled bakelite. This coloring principle and dosage variations multiply the results, much to the delight of collectors. Some colors, like blue, which appeared in 1937, are rarer than others. There are also variations in certain details, such as the front name inscription, the presence of a film press, the film advance mechanism, and the presence of lugs to facilitate opening the back. There's also a matching leather case available, but since it could be bought separately, mixed combinations are common.
The Midget camera was quite successful, probably more due to its amusing appearance than its average results.
In 1947, Coronet introduced a new model, the Cameo, with the same format but with horizontal shooting and a shutter speed of 1/25th.
Due to their size and film format, Midget cameras are sometimes mistakenly associated by broad-minded authors with spy cameras, although this was never the case.
La teinte noir uni est moins séduisante que les versions chinées.
Coronet Camera was founded in 1926 in Birmingham, UK by Frederik John Pettifer. In 1932, he moved the company to 308-310 Summer Lane in the Aston district. In 1933, the company was renamed Coronet Limited. The production was significant, with 300,000 simple lenses being ordered from Taylor Taylor & Hobson in 1935!
Alongside the production of low-end cameras, such as box and folding cameras, F.J. Pettifer also manufactured cameras using colored Bakelite, with the help of neighboring company Edwin Elliott, which molded cameras and lenses for Coronet. Many of the cameras produced were "gift objects" or sold by mail-order companies.
During World War II, Coronet's workshops were destroyed by German bombings. Coronet was acquired in 1946 by Dufay-Chromax Limited and stopped all production around 1967.
Interesting links or bibliography :
| Annuaire Tiranty, Paris, 1935, suggested by Sylvain Halgand |
| Pritchard, M, Saint Denny, D. Spy cameras. London, Classic Collection, 1993, suggested by Sylvain Halgand |
| British Journal of Photography Almanac, London, Greenwood Ltd, 1935, suggested by Sylvain Halgand |
| Channing, N, Dunn, M. British Camera Makers. An A-Z guide to companies and products. 1996, suggested by Sylvain Halgand |
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