Antique Cameras

When I was in college I bought a couple of old Leicas just for fun. One was from the 1930’s and the other was post-war. Not what you would call modern cameras.

I started working for Kenny Young at Ben’s Camera Exchange in downtown Kansas City in 1971. Kenny was an avid camera collector and I got quite serious about learning about old camera and the history associated with them. I began by reading all the books I could find about the history of photography and cameras.

I heard about a book called “Glass, Brass & Chrome, a History of American 35mm Cameras.” I mentioned it to a customer who worked at the Kansas City Library. The next day he brought me a copy of the book. When I asked him when it was due, he said not to worry about. I read the book and put it on my bookshelf. Years later, after I became a Christian, I saw the book and realized that it was stolen from the library. I took it back downtown and dropped it in the book return. I then tracked down another copy of the book and paid about $50 for it. Well worth it to have a clear consequence.

After I started my own business and began having spare money, I started buying classic cameras. I shopped Shutterbug Magazine and traveled the country to camera shows. Eventually I owned hundreds of cameras, many unique and of great interest to collectors.

In 1990 I opened a Photography Museum in the lobby of Mathis Photo Inc. at 7801 Floyd, Overland Park, KS. After about five years, I began to sense that the cameras were becoming a chore to maintain if not a burden. Plus I went to a camera show in Independence. It was at a Holiday Inn. There were about 25 dealers setting around talking cameras and about six customers, none of whom looked like they were planning to spend any money. I then drove up the street to a gun show. There were hundreds of dealers with thousands of people inside and a line out the door.  They were all waiving cash and trying to buy all sorts of weapons including military style assault rifles that I thought were illegal. The contrast couldn’t have been greater. I realized that the world had changed and nobody was going to get excited about old cameras. Guys would rather pretend they were Wyatt Earp or Rambo than Ansel Adams.

I asked an international camera dealer friend named Roger Reinke to stop by the next time he was in Kansas City. I sold him about half of my collection. I didn’t have any seller’s remorse, so I had him come back and sold him most of the rest.

With the advent of the internet and eBay, I sold a few more. I now have just a couple of the most attractive ones left. Some of the most expensive cameras were not necessarily display worthy, only rare or historically significant.

In 1996 I decided to shift my pastime to music after 25 year away from playing. I still teach a few classes on the history of photography and have a little bit of classic equipment to show, but I just haven’t seen an outpouring of excitement for historically significant cameras in the past 30 years. Maybe they will come back someday.