Kodak Head Office, Clerkenwell Road, London, c.1902 (b/w photo)

Although the simplification of processes and cameras gathered pace in the last decades of the 19th century, it was only with the release of George Eastman’s Kodak camera of 1888 that the mass democratisation of the photography became truly possible. Although portable and easy to use, Eastman’s cameras were not in themselves revolutionary in design. What was new was Eastman’s application of modern industrial processes to the photographic market, incorporating mass production, international distribution and relentless advertising. The company slogan, ‘You press the button, we do the rest,’ brilliantly promoted photography as a simple pleasure available to all. This view shows the Company’s English head office in the Clerkenwell Road in the early years of the 20th century.