Thursday, August 14, 2008

The Mick-a-Matic Camera

mmcamera3The Mick-a-Matic camera came out around 1970 and I bought one just for laughs.

The lens was in the nose and the viewfinder was where Mickey's third eye would be if he were enlightened. The camera used the then-popular Kodak Instamatic film cartridge. There was a socket between the ears for a rotating flashcube, good for four shots. The funniest thing about it was that you held it up, covering your face like a Mickey Mouse mask, to take a picture.

Then-Indiana Gov. Edgar D. Whitcomb was considered by some to be a bumbling lightweight and Jim Schweikert, United Press International Indianapolis Bureau photographer, took one of these to a Whitcomb press conference to the delight of the rest of the media.

I think mine went away in a yard sale and I was chagrined to discover today that these things are fetching $40 and more on Ebay.

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