The Kodak 35 was introduced in 1938 as the first US manufactured 35 mm camera from Eastman Kodak Company. It was developed in Rochester, New York when it became likely that imports from the Kodak AG factory in Germany could be disrupted by war.

While Kodak had invented the Kodak 135 daylight-loading film cassette in 1934, prior to 1938 they only offered the German made Kodak Retina to work with this cartridge. US built 35mm cameras used the 828 paper backed 35 mm roll-film (Bantam Series).

The first Kodak 35 initially had no rangefinder. It slightly resembles cameras like the German Wirgin Edinex and Adox Adrette. It takes thirty-six 24×36 mm frames on 135 film. The precision molded black Bakelite body has satin-chromed top and base plates, and a collapsible finder is mounted on top center. The removable Bakelite back with the attached base plate slides easily off for film handling. It is secured by a centrally located wing key in the base plate. Turning the key also slackens the spring tension of the chromed steel film pressure plate, a very unusual feature presumably incorporated to facilitate reassembling the camera rather than preventing scratching the film during rewind, which would have been a novel feature.

Prominently placed at the top are the large wind-on and rewind knobs, the right-hand one is the film advance knob, both to be operated in the clockwise direction. Next to it is a manually reset automatic frame counter dial and the chromed wind-on release button, the latter not to be mistaken for the shutter release. The front element focusing Kodak lens has a rigid lensmount set in a Kodak inter-lens shutter. The shutter is cocked by a gear coupling to the sprocket-wheel drum, which is trailing along with the passing film during the wind-on operation. Hence, there is no shutter cocking without a film in the camera as is this camera offered for auction. I placed a roll of film to make sure that the shutter functions fine and removed the film. An automatic mechanism locates the next frame on the film by locking the advance knob. It is released for the next frame by depressing the wind-on release button before turning the wind-on knob. This prevents double exposure, but not blank frames since nothing prevents pressing the button again and advance the film. However, a red indicator is shown to the left in a slot on the top of the shutter cover that indicates the camera has been wound. The shutter release, in the shape of a rearward-pointing pin attached to the shutter release lever, is situated at about 10-o'clock at the shutter housing. It is protected from being accidentally triggered by a small cover extending over it.

Rewinding the film into its cassette is accomplished by first pulling the wind-on knob to its raised position followed by turning the left-hand top mounted rewind-knob clock-wise; this is accompanied by a rattling noise. It is not possible to raise the wind-on knob if it is not free to rotate, it is freed by turning the knob clock-wise while depressing the double exposure prevention button. The frame counter dial rotates during rewind as long as the film passes the sprocket wheel drum. The wind gears, which is visible inside the machined steel film chamber. All internal metal parts are either plated steel or brass. The film pressure-plate is chrome-plated polished steel, while the other parts are nickel-plated.

The Kodak 35 Rangefinder is an improved version of the Kodak 35 that was launched by the Eastman Kodak Company in 1938 as their first 35mm camera manufactured in the USA. After some two years, the Company presented this improved Kodak 35 camera, with a new superstructure housing containing a viewfinder and a separate rangefinder, but without any addition to the identifying inscription on the body. It is generally referred to as the Kodak 35 Rangefinder model.

The centrally positioned eyepiece is for the viewfinder. An external mechanism, hidden inside the protrusion at the left-hand side of the lens/shutter assembly, relays the front lens element extension to the rangefinder optics by sensing the height of a milled cam at the periphery of the lens barrel just behind the toothed rim. Both the separate viewfinder and rangefinder eyepieces and the lens coupling are in the style of the Leica camera. The difference is the way in which the lever operates on the lens barrel. Looking through the small rangefinder window at the left-hand side at the back reveals a clear view of a horizontally split image. The lower image part is shifted sideways by turning the focusing wheel at the front right-hand side of the lens. By aligning the vertical feature of any object in the motive that crosses the split in the rangefinder image may render it sharp on the film.

The Rangefinder model was made available with a variety of shutter and lens combinations during its production run, which ended in 1951: 1940-1948: Kodak Anastigmat Special f/3.5 50mm in KODAMATIC SHUTTER as located on this Kodak 35 offered for auction, or 1940-1948: Kodak Anastigmat Special f/3.5 50mm in FLASH KODAMATIC SHUTTER

Late issues changed the Name Anastigmat lens name to Anastar as noted below. 1947-1951: Kodak Anastar Special f/3.5 50mm in KODAMATIC SHUTTER, or 1947-1951: Kodak Anastar Special f/3.5 50mm in FLASH KODAMATIC SHUTTER. Note: This model is often referred to as the "gear coupled RF version" due to the conspicuously placed gear next to the lens front element. The gear however, only provides a means of turning the front element using a finger on the edge of the wheel, and is not part of the link between the lens and the rangefinder.

Some RF models have black knobs and some have black rangefinder protrusion next to the lens as does this Kodak 35 offered for auction, but the majority have plated metal knobs. There was no civil production between 1942 and 1945. The post-war viewfinder and the rangefinder models were also black with bright-chromed metal features, and an accessory shoe was added to the viewfinder model next to the rewind knob. For a while during the period from 1947 to 1949, the knobs were also made of white plastic instead of metal. Both the metal- and the white rewind knobs have a film reminder dial in the hub.

A few minor modifications were also made to internal parts, notably to the film pressure plate spring that changes through a variety of shapes from rod to flat shape. Most, if not all shutters alternatives have a No. 5 Cable Release socket with a tiny removable coin-slotted screw plug, while the later ones also have a Kodak type flash synchronizer contact post. A metal band inscribed "Made in U.S.A." was attached to the top of the shutter housing cover plate, save for the last year or two of production again as present on this camera. The milling pattern on the focusing wheel front goes through a variety of styles from flat to a pattern of several concentric circles.

Year of manufacture The serial number on a Kodak manufactured lens is always preceded by a code consisting of two capital letters that indicates the year of manufacture using a 10 letter key word, CAMEROSITY, in which each letter in the word represents a corresponding numeral in the sequence 1234567890. Of these, the C is substituted by 1, the A by 2 etc. through to the Y by 0. "ES" thus gives the number 47 for the year 1947. The Kodak 35 serial number is engraved on the front ring on the lens. The Lens serial number on this Kodak 35 Rangefinder Camera is ER 3199 which places this camera in 1945 period. The ER = 45 or 1945 as noted above.

This information came from a variety of sites on the internet including Wikipedia and Mike Eckman.

I will accept PAYPAL as payment method. Item will be shipped Priority mail usually next day after payment of Paypal, packaging Priority Mail $9.75.