Croydon Camera Club
Croydon Camera Club

Croydon Camera Club History 1890-1918
Mr. Kenneth Mees arrives, 1901

In this month (April 1901) there appears a new star in the firmament whose subsequent career was probably unforseen either by himself or his fellow members. His name was plain Mr. Kenneth Mees and he lectured on "Organic developers" telling the old hands, who were very much inclined to scoff at this youngster, that Pyro soda was no doubt a good developer but that it was better to use hydroquinone and resorcin.

At the very next meeting, so curiously do events happen, the Minutes record that the evening was passed in conversation. None of the stories told at this gathering are recorded though we may suspect that some of them were old chestnuts.

The Club puts Kodak in its place!

But it seems that a discussion arose regarding the Kodak Company which, in those days, was not quite the formidable concern as it is today. The refusal of the Kodak Company to supply goods to any dealer who stocked goods of other manufacturers could not be too strongly condemned, said the meeting, and being the Croydon camera club they were prepared to say so boldly to the offending party. On the proposition of a Mr. Allbright seconded by Mr. Isaac it was unanimously resolved "That the CCC whilst fully recognising the services rendered by the Kodak Company to photographers deplores the threatened importation into this country of methods of trading opposed to British ideas of fair play and can only regard the Company's action as an attempt to establish an injurious monopoly."

The sequel was that Kodak replied in a letter read to the Club a week later when "after considerable discussion” according to the report, it was the general opinion that the views expressed by the Company do not affect the decision formerly arrived at by the Club and it was resolved that an intimation to this effect should be forwarded to the Company. Unfortunately the copy correspondence has not been preserved.