Uploaded February 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Invented in the late 1930s by Latvian-born German inventor Walter Zapp, the Minox was originally intended as a compact snapshot camera requiring minimal photographic skills to use. However, its high cost meant it largely became a luxury item, while its small size and close focusing ability made it attractive to intelligence agencies, who used it extensively during the Second World War and Cold War for copying documents and other espionage activities.

Stanhope Viewer Video: youtube.com/watch?v=ksNJZC_6EUU

0:00 Introduction
0:40 Walter Zapp and Minox Origins
2:40 Intelligence Use: WWII
7:18 Intelligence Use: Cold War
9:12 Later Company History
9:56 Minox History: Riga to Model IIIS
12:27 Minox Model B: Controls and Operations
20:00 Major Minox Models 1969-2015
22:09 Outro

SOURCES:

butkus.org/chinon/minox/minox_b/minox_b.htm
web.archive.org/web/20160305180528fw_/http://submin.com/8x11/collection/minox/minox_serial.htm
web.archive.org/web/20160407165101fw_/http://submin.com/8x11/collection/minox/history/history_chart.htm
web.archive.org/web/20160315165338fw_/http://submin.com/8x11/collection/minox/cameras/b.htm
web.archive.org/web/20160315164651fw_/http://submin.com/8x11/collection/minox/cameras/riga.htm
web.archive.org/web/20160701034714/http://minox.org/mhspublications/merchandising/index.html
minoxdoc.com/what_is_a_minox_ii.htm
cameramanuals.org/pdf_files/minox_ec.pdf
cameramanuals.org/pdf_files/minox_bl.pdf
camera-wiki.org/wiki/Japanese_matchbox_camera
submin.com/8x11/collection/minox/articles/images/times_92.jpg
minox.org/minoxencyclopedia/z/zapp.html