Eastman Kodak Company was started by George Eastman and Henry A. Strong in 1881. They made their headquarters in Rochester, New York. It began as the Eastman Dry plate company. The company made Photographic plates for Photographers. It changed from a partnership to a corporation in 1884. In 1888 it changed its name again to the Eastman Kodak Company. This is when they released their first hand-held camera called the Kodak. It used a roll of photographic film which the company had started making in 1885. It was a camera simple enough for anyone to take pictures. Eastman Kodak re-invented photography and became an American success story. But their success would not last.