This meeting has passed and is now available as a recording below!

No other Kodak 35 mm camera has been met with such admiration as the Kodak Retina. Nor has any other had such a profound influence on the advancement of the use of 35mm film by amateur photographers in both Europe and the USA. Use of 35mm film began in the mid-1930s due to the simultaneous appearance of the Kodak Daylight Loading Magazine (135 Film) in the USA and the Kodak Universal-Patrone that was introduced in Germany.

Dr. David L. Jentz addresses the design of these two different 35 mm film cassettes in our February 2026 meetup, which is available as a recording below. These film magazines were designed to retrofit existing 35mm cameras such as the Leica, Contax, and the lesser known Peggy camera. These original Kodak 35mm cassettes (film magazines) form the basis for the 35mm daylight loading film magazines we continue to use to this day.

The reason the first Kodak Retina has a model designation of “Nr. 117” will be discussed in a short history of the assignment of the “production code” designations by both Dr. August Nagel Fabrik fuer Feinmechnik (1928-1931) and Kodak AG Dr. Nagel-Werk (1931 and beyond). [Note: Kodak AG is the German branch of the Kodak company.] Eastman Kodak Company’s influence on Dr. August Nagel and Dr. Nagel-Werk become apparent in this discussion.

The earliest identified Kodak Retina camera is a pre-production version of the Retina Nr. 117 which has been termed “Ur-Retina” by the Historical Society for Retina Cameras. The design history of this first model is will be discussed in detail with a display of American and German patents showing the unique features required in the design of this 35mm folding camera. The similarities of the patent drawings and the actual camera are also demonstrated.

Images of the actual “Ur-Retina” which resides in the Deutsches Museum are shown and details of how this camera differs from actual production Kodak Retina Nr. 117 cameras are defined. Images of these pre-production “Ur-Retina” cameras, used in the announcements, marketing and instruction booklets in Germany, are also presented.

Insights are given about the use of pre-production Retina cameras occurring throughout the many years of Kodak Retina and Retinette production from 1934 to 1941 and from 1945 to 1969.

Dr. David L. Jentz is an internationally known expert on the history of Kodak Retina/Retinette cameras. He founded the Historical Society for Retina Cameras (HSRC) in 1992 and has written for multiple collector’s guidebooks and HSRC Journals. Dr. Jentz has authored numerous articles about Kodak Retina/Retinette Cameras in American, German, and French photographic historical literature and has been a speaker at PhotoHistory X and PhotoHistory XV held in Rochester, New York.

Dr. Jentz had a short segment in the October program about Dr. Nagel.