Kodak history Fixer glass jar

RLA

Member
Joined
Aug 28, 2023
Messages
6
Location
06405
Format
4x5 Format
I came across this glass jar at a tag sale, it looks like it was used by Kodak to ship fixer in at one time. Tried doing a Google image search but could not find any history that way, just wanted to know if anyone has any details about this interesting Kodak glass.
 

mshchem

Subscriber
Joined
Nov 26, 2007
Messages
14,810
Location
Iowa City, Iowa USA
Format
Medium Format
I suspect that's something licensed by EK sometime in the last 35 years as a novelty drinking glass
 

MattKing

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Apr 24, 2005
Messages
53,326
Location
Delta, BC Canada
Format
Medium Format
What are the approximate dimensions and what is the capacity?
I agree that it looks like some of the branded merchandise, but I truly can't figure out who would come out with a drinking glass labelled like fixer!
 

reddesert

Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2019
Messages
2,437
Location
SAZ
Format
Hybrid
No company with any assets to protect would sell a drinking glass labeled like a jar of fixer "for photographic purposes only."

It's a container that may have had a crimped or other non-screw top. You may get some constraints on the date from the style of the Kodak logo and the fact that it has metric labeling. For ex, the serif "Kodak" was used from 1935 to about 1987, but the shape of the block it was embedded in changed over time (by the 1970s it was often in the stylized "K"). The metric equivalent label might mean 1960s or later, but that's a guess on my part.
 
OP
OP

RLA

Member
Joined
Aug 28, 2023
Messages
6
Location
06405
Format
4x5 Format
Thanks everyone for the great feedback! The glass measures 3.25" wide x 4.425" high and holds exactly 14 fluid oz full to the top. The mixing information on the back side make me believe it was used at one time to ship powered fixer, but that's just a guess on my part.
 

Attachments

  • Back of glass.jpg
    377.3 KB · Views: 68

pentaxuser

Member
Joined
May 9, 2005
Messages
20,038
Location
Daventry, No
Format
35mm
reddesert said:
No company with any assets to protect would sell a drinking glass labeled like a jar of fixer "for photographic purposes only."
Click to expand...
Wasn't it a glass jar like that was used by Socrates to commit suicide when he had problems with split grade?


pentaxuser
 

Hunter_Compton

Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2019
Messages
248
Location
Oxford, MI
Format
Analog
The fact that it has no lid or sealing mechanism makes me think it's unlikely powder was originally shipped in just this. Possibly in a separate foil lined pouch and then this was used as a mixing vessel?

Even then, most of the Kodak chemistry from this era that I have observed that was not supplied in pouches was supplied in either metal cans or brown glass jars with screw top lids. I can see no advantage to supplying them in glassware like this.

I'm inclined to agree with mshchem that this is probably some kind of novelty drinking glass, though I doubt it was made professionally, maybe by a hobbyist.
 

Don_ih

Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2021
Messages
7,876
Location
Ontario
Format
35mm RF
RLA said:
holds exactly 14 fluid oz full to the top
Click to expand...

Yet the label reads .74 kilograms - where 14 oz of water (which I expect is denser than fixer powder) weighs .41 kilograms. Soooooo.....
 

reddesert

Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2019
Messages
2,437
Location
SAZ
Format
Hybrid
Sodium thiosulfate and sodium sulfite (major ingredients of non-rapid fixer) are both denser than water. I don't know how that translates into the density of the packed powder.

I've not seen a Kodak container like this before, but it could have had a crimped metal top. Until recently the mole sauce I get at the supermarket came in glass jars with a crimped top, and if that's food safe against air, it's fixer safe. (Note for non-North Americans: "mole sauce" as in mole poblano is a Mexican sauce with roasted chile peppers, and is not for serving with small yard mammals.)
 

Don_ih

Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2021
Messages
7,876
Location
Ontario
Format
35mm RF
reddesert said:
Sodium thiosulfate and sodium sulfite
Click to expand...

Looking it up, it looks like you might be able to fit that mass of those chemicals in a 14oz jar. I was a bit doubtful when I posted my last response (edited it to be less self-assured). I don't know the exact make-up of Kodak fixer, but assuming it's at least 1.7x the density of water (and sodium sulfite is well over 2x), I guess the .74 kg could fit in the jar.

It does, however, seem like a stupid way to ship a chemical. This isn't peanut butter, after all.
 

MattKing

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Apr 24, 2005
Messages
53,326
Location
Delta, BC Canada
Format
Medium Format
Is there any text in the glass itself - likely in the bottom?
Like those that you can sort of see here:
 
OP
OP

RLA

Member
Joined
Aug 28, 2023
Messages
6
Location
06405
Format
4x5 Format
It seems like the only way we will know for sure if Kodak had used a container like this to ship fixer is if someone who worked in the Kodak factory at the time weighed in. The quality of the screen printing on the glass is very good, another reason to believe it was made by Kodak. It might have been a short production run, promotion of some sort? This could explain why there aren't any other photos online, at least that I could find using a Google Image look up.
 
OP
OP

RLA

Member
Joined
Aug 28, 2023
Messages
6
Location
06405
Format
4x5 Format
No text on the bottom, the mystery continues.
 

Attachments

  • Fixer glass bottom.jpg
    303.3 KB · Views: 34

gordrob

Subscriber
Joined
Jan 29, 2005
Messages
1,015
Location
Western Cana
Format
Multi Format
The lack of any numbers and maker's marks on the bottom of the glass show that it was probably not manufactured for commercial use. Factory produced glass containers will hold information as to which factory produced the item, approximate production date and what mold was used.
 

MarkS

Member
Joined
Mar 12, 2004
Messages
506
It's a drinking glass. I have a set; given to me by my longtime supervisor at Kodak when he retired. Along with several photo science textbooks, those from his 1960s student days at RIT.
I don't know when these glasses were made (Kodak made and sold a great deal of promotional swag over the years, and many people collect it) but most likely these glasses date from after the company changed their graphic designs in the mid-1970s.
For the record, my preferred glass to hold a gin and tonic. (Plymouth gin, 'Q' tonic water, ice, lemon twist, dash of bitters).
 

reddesert

Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2019
Messages
2,437
Location
SAZ
Format
Hybrid
Well, I will be darned. In a time (now) where well-meaning people will tell you not to use clear plastic bottles to mix photo chemicals even if you label them "chemicals do not drink," it is hard to imagine that Kodak itself once distributed drinking glasses labeled like photo chemicals.
 

cmacd123

Subscriber
Joined
May 24, 2007
Messages
4,318
Location
Stittsville, Ontario
Format
35mm
I vaguely recall seeing a set of those being sold somewhere. reproductions of different labels from Different eras. And yes, the Kodak fixer back then was sold in a cardboard box. the developers came in a metal can, except for liquids like Versatol which came in Brown Glass Bottles.
 

MattKing

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Apr 24, 2005
Messages
53,326
Location
Delta, BC Canada
Format
Medium Format
IIRC, I did have some plastic bottles of Versatol developer back in the 1970s, but they were unusual.
And as that would be a 45-50 year old memory, it may be suspect!
 

cmacd123

Subscriber
Joined
May 24, 2007
Messages
4,318
Location
Stittsville, Ontario
Format
35mm
I still have a sealed glass bottle of Versatol in the back of the cupboard. now too much of a nostagia item to test to see if it still works. I recall getting several bottles of Microdol X liquid developer on a clearance {I think from Blacks} about that time, but those I used up. (still have the empty bottles with the yellow metal caps) I think they could be diluted 1 part developer to 3 parts water.
 
Last edited:

gordrob

Subscriber
Joined
Jan 29, 2005
Messages
1,015
Location
Western Cana
Format
Multi Format
Liquid developers like Polydol that were used in commercial darkrooms came in cubitainers (flexible plastic container) so you could draw however many ounces you need to mix up solutions or replenishers.
 

guangong

Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2009
Messages
3,589
Format
Medium Format

That was a time when people were given to have some horse sense. There were no labels on a folding ladders shelf saying “This is not a step!”
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn more…