Several spy cameras of the 20th century

Several spy cameras of the XX century: cameras that can be hidden in the book, as well as miniature devices that fit in the palm of your hand and even in a pack of cigarettes. Probably, all of them are hopelessly outdated: now you can take a photo of a person on the contrary, just pretending to take a selfie ...

The Lucky Strike camera was developed for communications between the American forces between 1949 and 1950, but the work did not go further than creating a prototype. A total of two cameras were made, the second is in the Museum of the Communications Forces in New Jersey. Pulled out of a pack of "cigarettes" served as camera control buttons. The size of the camera is slightly smaller than the size of a real Lucky Strike tutu, so it fits exactly in the box. On the left is the light meter disguised as a box of Ohio matches.

The Taschenbuch camera ("paperback") was created in 1888 by pioneer photography Dr. Rudolf Krugener. This is one of the first hidden cameras in history. Noticing a hole in the shape of the lens on the spine of the book, the prudent attacker became even more careful.

The camera in the form of ABC hours, released by the German company Steineck in 1948, became a popular tool for private investigators in the 1950s. Whether this wristwatch with a built-in 12.5-millimeter lens used intelligence is unknown.

The New York Expo Police camera (which was on sale between 1911 and 1924) also did not disguise itself as other items, but was ideally suited for surveillance thanks to its tiny size - roughly the corresponding size of a matchbox.