George Eastman was 15 years old. The young George left school early and started working to help support the family. As Eastman began to have success with his photography business, he vowed to repay his mother for the hardships she had endured in raising him. In 1884, Eastman patented the first film in roll form to prove practicable; he had been tinkering at home to develop it. In 1888, he perfected the Kodak Black camera, which was the first camera designed to use roll film. In 1889 he first offered film stock, and by 1896 became the leading supplier of film stock
Kodak Signet used a significant amount of plastic except the Signet 35 which was machined from an aluminum casting, and shared style and durability with the Kodak Chevron camera (continuation of the Kodak Medalist series). The Signet 80 was Kodak's second attempt at offering a US made full camera system, the first being the ill-fated Ektra system. The Signet 80 including the accessory 35mm and 90mm lenses, cost about 75% of the cost of a comparable top-of-the-line Kodak Retina III system. The Signet line had quality control and design issues which limited appeal and durability. Despite limitations, the lenses are considered to