The Expo camera design was patented On September 6, 1904 by Magnus Ni�ll and was manufactured by the Expo Camera Co., New York. The camera was described in the patent as an improved photographic camera both in novel form and construction. That could be carried in a vest pocket and resemble the form of a watch case. At the time of the patent, Magnus was registered as a resident of Sweden and Norway but was living in New York. Also, around the time of the submittal of the patent Magnus assigned one half of the rights to Thomas Wallace.

The Camera size is only 2 1/4 inches in diameter and fits in the palm of a hand. It took 25 exposures from a single drop-in roll film cassette. One significant feature of this camera, was that the film could be reloaded in full daylight. The negatives are 15 x 22mm. The lens is fixed focus 25mm, and shutter mechanism consists of a 1/25 sec sliding plate. A clip on brilliant finder was an accessory and significantly adds collector value when accompanying the camera.

In 1905 The expo design was exported to Europe. Houghton's Ltd., of London, England licensed and manufactured a camera based on the expo design and called it the "Ticka" Watch Camera. The design was also very successful in England.

The Expo and Ticka watch was marketed to the general public as a novelty camera, not a toy as the expo camera advertisements indicated. It was simple to use and easy to load film. It was popular and manufactured in large quantities. Although it is fairly common to find, the camera is prized by collectors so not many are placed on the market.

On December 14, 1920 Thomas Wallace of Brooklyn, New York, was issued a patent for improvements to the expo Camera watch Shutter and Operating Mechanism.

The Ticka was offered for sale until approximately 1914 and the Expo until the late 20's.