Although there are a number of books on collecting or using classic cameras, from Harry Gross's pioneering Antique and Classic Cameras (1965) to Paul-Henry van Hasbroeck's 150 Classic Cameras, from 1839 to the Present (1989), the term ‘classic’ has seldom been consistently or precisely defined. For some authors, the word simply means historic or landmark cameras such as the first Kodak camera of 1888, the first
1. mechanical and relatively complex, incorporating optical innovation, craftsmanship, and precision engineering in its design;
2. made between the mid-1920s and early 1970s, when the camera moved away from the traditional vintage plate or box-form design, but before the widespread advent of plastics and electronics;
3. usable, employing a roll-film or plate size that is still obtainable. Although companies exist that will make obsolete formats to order, ‘usable’ in practice means 35 mm, 120 roll-film, 127 roll-film, 620 roll-film, and 4 × 5 and 9 × 12 in sheet film. It excludes sub-miniature and very-large-format cameras.
These criteria remain fluid, but include the majority of cameras from Zeiss Ikon (1926-75) such as the Contax, Contaflex, Super Ikonta range, and Contarex; Leitz/Leica (1925 to the present), but excluding reflexes; and inter-war German manufacturers such as Ihagee, Franke & Heidecke, Berning & Co., and Linhof. Many purists would exclude Japanese cameras, but it is reasonable to include the better-quality post-war products, including those from Nippon Kogaku (Nikon), Canon, Asahi Optical Co. (Pentax), and Tokyo Kogaku (Topcon) amongst others. There are a number of marques from other countries, or selected cameras from particular manufacturers, that meet the criteria: Hasselblad from Sweden, the Eastman Kodak Co. Ektra from the USA, the British Reid and selected Ensign models, the French Foca, and the Swiss Alpa and Tessina cameras all qualify as classic cameras.
The rise of interest in collecting, especially since the mid-1980s, has been partly driven by a move amongst photographers away from the fully automatic, plastic, and electronic cameras that began arriving from the mid-1970s. Classic cameras remain a feasible means of producing high-quality photographs, especially from the medium-format models, and restore control to the photographer. In addition, most have optics with particular characteristics that make them better for certain types of photography. An older lens that is slightly soft in focus or not colour corrected can be preferable to a modern state-of-the-art equivalent.
The above definition leaves a large number of cameras from the 1840s to the present that are collectible. Pre-1925 cameras are increasingly being termed ‘vintage’ and in general are simpler and more traditional in their construction. They include brass and mahogany field and tailboard cameras mainly from 19th- and early 20th-century Britain and France. Hand and detective cameras from the late 19th century also come into this category. There are cameras from all periods that are collected for their design or aesthetic appeal, such as the Kodak Bantam Special, designed by Walter Dorwin Teague, or the Brownie 44A, styled by Kenneth Grange. Others are favoured by particular collectors by reason of their marque, film or plate format, material of manufacture (even plastic), or type (e.g. stereoscopic or disguised). There remain certain landmark or historic cameras collectible because they were innovative in their construction, such as the first all-plastic camera, the 1929 Rajar No. 6, or because they incorporated a new feature, such as the roll-film Luzo of 1889 or the 1963 Instamatic 100 using a drop-in cartridge. Some cameras fit into more than one of these categories.
The size and value of the historic camera market has grown dramatically since the first regular specialist auctions in the early 1970s. In 1977 the world auction record price for a camera was £21, 000, but it had reached £39, 600 by 1993 and £157, 750 by 2001 (all set at Christie's). In 1985 Christie's London camera auctions yielded c. £200, 000; by the early 1990s the annual figure was almost £2 million. Nevertheless, since the majority of classic and collectible cameras were originally mass produced for an amateur market, the field remains an affordable one.
— Michael Pritchard
Bibliography
- Permutt, C., Collecting Old Cameras (1976).
- Matanle, I., Collecting and Using Classic Cameras (1986).
- McKeown, J. M. and J. C., Price Guide to Antique and Classic Cameras 2001-2 (2001).
- Hicks, R., and Schultz, F., Rangefinder: Equipment, History, Techniques (2003)
