Date of use : 1957 Cameroon

Revere Camera Co. Cover – Cameroun to USA

This document represents a commercial airmail envelope sent from Cameroon to the United States during the mid-twentieth century. The address section of the envelope reads "Revere Camera Co., 320 East Twenty-first Street, Chicago 16, Illinois, U.S.A." This indicates that the item was sent to the Revere Camera Company, a firm operating in the United States. Revere Camera Company was one of the American manufacturers known in the mid-twentieth century for producing motion picture and photographic equipment. The company was founded by businessman Samuel Briskin. Its origins are connected to the diversification of the Chicago-based Revere Copper and Brass Company, which expanded into the field of optical and motion picture equipment during the 1930s.

During the 1940s and 1950s the company became widely recognized for the production of 8 mm and 16 mm film cameras. These compact devices were designed primarily for amateur filmmakers and home users. Portable motion picture cameras of this type played an important role in the rapid expansion of amateur filmmaking and home cinema culture in the post-war period, when technological innovation and consumer demand contributed to the growing popularity of personal film recording and projection.

Record Information

Title: Revere Camera Co. Cover – Cameroun to USA

Category: Photographic Industry History / Manufacturing

Subcategory: International Commercial Correspondence / Airmail

Country: Cameroon (Sender) / USA (Recipient)

City: [Cameroon city unknown] / Chicago, Illinois

Date of use: 1957

Company (Recipient): Revere Camera Company, 320 East Twenty-first Street, Chicago 16, Illinois. Founded by Samuel Briskin. American manufacturer of 8mm and 16mm motion picture cameras and photographic equipment. Connected to Revere Copper and Brass Company diversification into optical equipment in the 1930s.

Object Type: International airmail envelope (commercial cover)

Postal Route: Cameroon (French Cameroun) → Chicago, USA

Language: English (address)

Material: Paper envelope (airmail)

Dimensions: Standard envelope format

Collection Theme: Revere Camera Company, Samuel Briskin, Chicago manufacturing, American photographic industry, 8mm and 16mm film cameras, amateur filmmaking, home cinema, mid-century consumer technology, international business correspondence, French Cameroun postal history, 1950s airmail.

Archival Significance: This 1957 airmail envelope documents international correspondence with Revere Camera Company, a significant American manufacturer of amateur motion picture equipment. The cover provides evidence of the company's global commercial reach, with correspondence originating from French Cameroon in West Africa. This item is a primary source for understanding the international distribution networks of American photographic manufacturers during the post-war boom in amateur filmmaking. The address to Chicago headquarters during the company's peak period of 8mm and 16mm camera production offers material evidence of Revere's place in the mid-century consumer technology market.

Research Note:

This article is based on historical research and independent analysis of the material in the author's collection. The text has been prepared as an original interpretative study and does not reproduce copyrighted material. The envelope's origin in French Cameroon (later part of the independent Republic of Cameroon) reflects the global reach of American photographic manufacturers and the presence of photographic commerce in West Africa during the colonial and early independence period.

This item is documented as part of the Photography in Postal History research project.
For research context, see the Research Methodology.
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