Spy cameras
The spy camera, or a camera disguised in another form to take photographs in secret, came into being at the same time as the gelatine bromide dry plate, although some early versions were rather more ambitious.
The spy camera, whether a serious or playful tool, took every possible shape: a revolver, a disc hidden under the waistcoat, a tie, binoculars, a hat, a book, and even a handbag! It was fitted with plates which were sometimes in a really tiny format, and ingenious systems for their development…
In due course, the appearance of film on a flexible base would enable other fantasies such as the pen, the watch, or the cane…
