Gap Fotobaby

Photos by Sylvain Halgand text by Sylvain Halgand. From the collection of Sylvain Halgand. Last update 2022-11-21 par Sylvain Halgand.

Manufactured or assembled in France from (Circa) 1952 to (After) 1955.
Index of rarity in France: Infrequent (among non-specialized garage sales)
Inventory number: 1480

See the complete technical specifications

Chronology of cameras Gap

Document sans titre

Sometimes confused with Agfa, because of its discreet logo with the shape of a diamond ¹, GAP cameras are indeed French. Mc Keown evokes a collaboration with German manufacturers during the 30s, but the manufacturing of the 40s and 50s is national.
There is little information about the company. The name of the designer George Paris is often mentioned to explain the name of the GAP brand. George Paris was a kind of compulsive inventor, filing in the 10s, international patents for an ignition system for Pigeon lamps, an electro-magnetic switch, a clamp system for fixing the pipes, an ashtray for smokers, etc. . but strangely nothing related to photography.

GAP fabrications are essentially boxes, although there are some models that bear a resemblance to Ultra-Fex, but in all cases, the material used is folded sheet metal.
GAP box cameras attract amateurs more by their decoration than by their technical qualities. Let's try to establish a synthesis of the various box models by characteristics:

Box 3 x 4 (127 rollfilm) Only one finder, no handle, strap attachment points on some models, back maintained by pressure.
v-groove finder riveted to top		Folding finder
Frame finder		Tube finder
Painted front face		Front face with deco
With addition of a metallic octagonal ornament
Film winding, only early models		Later models

Box 6 x 9 (120 rollfilm) Two finders, one handle. The back is held by a clasp.
No integrated viewfinder (only one side added)		Two integrated viewfinders
With addition of a metallic octagonal ornament		With addition of a round metallic ornament
With metallic addition, showing the shape of the logo (rarely painted)		With part of a Supergap
Sober decor		Colorful Deco
Sober or colorful decor, and metallic addition

Hybridizations between these characteristics can give a large number of variants.
False variants circulate, they generally have a very colorful front face, with a rigid extra thickness, because the original decoration is very thin. The Pégamoid is a cotton canvas coated with nitrocellulose, which explains the frayed appearance of a large number of false copies.

The catalogs are not of much use for the determination of the color variants, their illustrations being only in black and white. Note that some catalogs make the mistake of giving these small box cameras for a 4 x 6.5 cm format, instead of 3 x 4 cm, confusing film format and negative format.

The 6 x 9 cm format box cameras theoretically exists in two types: Type 51, simple and Type 52, with yellow filter and two diaphragms.
The GAP boxes, due to their low cost, have been used as giveaways; hence some excesses on the decor.

¹ This logo only appears on the back of 6 x 9 cm box cameras. It may or may not include the GAP name.

__________

Traduction de Manuel M

Fotobaby “the camera of tiny”. Guaranteed operation.

This GAP 3 x 4 was probably sold in the stores of toys and the department stores, if one deciphers the slogans which decorate its box. This one contains besides the camera, a case out of boiled carton, directions for use and perhaps a film.

The user manual is that which one usually finds with 3 x 4. It is not marked any to “fotobaby”.

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