Payoff sentence first: I have an enlarger, print washer, and paper safe going begging, all free to a good home. One caveat: ya gotta come pick 'em up. I can't ship.
The enlarger is this one. The gem, however, is the print washer—a forever-ever-after unobtainable SaltHill 11x14inch model, the best print washer of its day, built to last, working and undamaged. The Rolls-Royce of archival washers. Very expensive when new.
Please email me if you're interested. (My email address can be found in the right-hand sidebar.)
[UPDATE: Looks like all three items are now spoken for. —MJ]
About "Prime Day" yesterday (and various cavils about same registered here), Dan wrote, "What a bunch of grumps! Amazon seems like one of the wonders of the modern world to me...."
But I have to say I, too, didn't see a lot that enticed me much. Maybe because, with a move coming up soon, I'm in a throw-away/give-away/sell-for-cheap mood, rather than a deal-seeking acquisitory mood.
I'm a bit appalled what a bad shopper I look like when I survey my possessions. It's not the case, really; it's just that I keep things too long. I have things that I bought at specific times for specific situations, and they're still hanging around, even though the situation I wanted them for has changed. So for instance I have a nice pair of speakers I bought for my old office. They worked fine in my old office. They're not set up now; there will be no place for them in the new house. What to do with them? I can't get rid of them easily because it will take some cagey selling just to get one-third as much money out of them as I've got into them...and I've got a lot into them. Seemed easier to keep them...until now, when I have to move them. (They weigh about 80 lbs. each and are unwieldy.)
All the rest of my darkroom equipment is going to be offered in one lump, all together—no bits 'n' pieces partings-out. I'm sorry but I haven't got time!
But for that, I'll list everything and post pictures. Stay tuned, and please pass the word if you know darkroom people. If somebody could post a link to this on APUG and the LFF, I'd be grateful.
Mike
Original contents copyright 2015 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.
(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:
Mark McCormick-Goodhart: "I dunno, I steadfastly hang on to key darkroom items, including two Durst 5x7 laborators, an old Salzmann, and the Chromega Enlarger my father bought me when I started to work in color while I was still a sophomore in high school. I know. It makes no logical or practical sense whatsoever to hold onto this stuff, especially given that I'm printing every thing these days by inkjet with incredible precision and I can envision a day in the not too distant future when I quit printing altogether, go over to the dark side, and just put up a whole bunch of high-rez flat panel displays all over my house. Realistically speaking, I know that I will more than likely never set up a working darkroom ever again. However, this equipment taps a vast psychological need in me to stay connected to my early roots in photography. When I let it go, I will give up photography altogether."
Amazon a modern wonder? There's an awful lot of reasons to think Amazon is yet another corporate enemy of society and civilised behaviour:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon.com#Controversies
Can I recommend you use Mike's links to buy anything by Naomi Klein? No Logo would be a good start, then maybe This Changes Everything.
Posted by: Don | Thursday, 16 July 2015 at 01:40 PM
I hear ya. I recently moved and it made me think that I really could/should do with less stuff. But I have the luxury of slow selling and careful dumping. The film dev stuff needs to go simply because I don\t have the time for it anymore due to changes in life, but I do feel nostalgic about it. I admire Ctein's ruthlessness in moving on to new tools.
Posted by: Oskar Ojala | Thursday, 16 July 2015 at 02:20 PM
It's not you, Mike, it was Amazon. And, by the way, Congratulations on the move, the GF, the new life, TOP's success... everything!
I would say to Dan that it's possible to be both disappointed by Amazon's cynical, over-hyped garage sale and appreciative of its existence and services. In fact, I suspect that the disappointment was in most cases proportional to one's general regard for Amazon.
In his defense, however, Amazon's own comparisons with Black Friday should have clued in veteran Amazoners (Amazonians? Amazoneers? I give up.) that the really good deals would be few and brief. The "event" wasn't aimed at the already assimilated.
I'm glad the darkroom equipment is going to good homes!
Posted by: robert e | Thursday, 16 July 2015 at 02:24 PM
I have nearly the same enlarger (mine is the standard model that takes regular variable contrast filters in a drawer) with Schneider and Rodenstock lenses. Also an 11x14 Versalab archival print washer and other assorted darkroom goodies. I've tried to give them away and had no luck locally. I'm also unwilling to ship so the market is pretty non-existent. What really bothers me the most is how I struggled with second-hand and second-rate darkroom gear for 30 years before putting together a nice outfit only to use it about a year before totally switching to digital. I really need to cart all this stuff to Goodwill if they'll take it.
Posted by: Dogman | Thursday, 16 July 2015 at 03:16 PM
Mike said: "I'm a bit appalled what a bad shopper I look like when I survey my possessions."
My shopping habits have changed as I've gotten old. Books are being replaced by e-books. No more music or video CD/DVD, iTunes and NetFlix take up much less space.
Also no speakers, headphones work just fine, and are easier to pack for a move. Audiophile gear has been replaced with an iPod Touch (that fits in a pocket). No television set, my 27" iMac is both a computer and an entertainment center.
Technology is making this easier—things are getting smaller/lighter/better, and less expensive.
Posted by: c.d.embrey | Thursday, 16 July 2015 at 08:09 PM
"...things are getting smaller/lighter/better..."
Almost universally smaller and lighter, but only sometimes better. While their possessions mostly shed size and weight, consumers frequently lose discernment. Quality of things, as measured by durability and performance, has gone down as much as it's increased.
Posted by: Sal Santamaura | Friday, 17 July 2015 at 10:08 AM