The Ansco Memo is an American 35mm camera introduced in 1926, using Ansco's own cassette system, as 35mm would not standardize on the Kodak version until 1934. While not technically the first US built 35 mm camera, it is the first to be sold in significant quantities.
The Memo features a claw-based film-advance mechanism, like a cine camera, rather than a sprocket system as on a conventional 35mm camera. The film was pushed from the bottom to the top cassette.
This camera takes the photo in the same orientation as a movie camera; 90 degrees rotated from modern cameras, so the images are half the size of the modern orientation. With a smaller format and early grainy film, photos were not as sharp as those from cameras such as the Lieca, but the Memo took 50 pictures on a roll of film.
The first cameras in 1926 had a varnished wood finish, then a leather-covered-wood which appeared in 1927. The next group came with a shutter release guard to help prevent unwanted exposures. Earlier models said "ANSCO" on the front, while later models said "MEMO". There was an olive-drab "OFFICIAL BOY SCOUT MEMO CAMERA" model.
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