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AGFA - Billy-Clack N° 74 (1934 - 1940)

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Agfa - Billy Clack N°74 (1934-1940)

Produced from the middle of the 1930's until 1940, the Billy-Clack is a small camera which opens by means of struts.
Similar folding struts were used on the  No. 1 Folding Pocket Kodak Cameras of 1897 and on later similar Kodak models. The basic style was very popular with troops in WW 1 because of its compactness when closed.

It is equipped with a rotating shutter offering only two positions « Time » and « Instant ». A lever located below the shutter allows the shutter to remain open for long exposures. There is a built-in portrait lens.

The lens is an Agfa Bilinar f = 95 mm. On the front, a small lever allows aperture adjustments of (f11, f16 or f22). 

Horizontal and vertical framing are possible using 2 reflex viewfinders located on the front plate. A non optical, direct view 'action' viewing frame is located on the right of the camera.

The Billy-Clack was made in 2 film formats :
bullet 6 x 9 (the one presented)
bullet 4,5 x 6 which has a yellow filter instead of the portrait lens.

For those of you who are former students of the ESME Sudria (French Engineer school), I received this camera in 2001 from the "Amiral" Nelson (it was her uncle's camera). Also, 20 years ago, M. André Martin - famous Mechanics Professor - was the sponsor of an exposition of old cameras that some of us organized in this school, located Blaise Desgoffe street in Paris.

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