Books About Camera Collecting

Three thousand cameras
I got more tips and pointers to this recent article on the BBC than almost anything else in recent memory, about a man named Neville "Jim" Matthew who loved to travel and who picked up cameras wherever he went—lots of regular readers thought I'd be interested in it and should feature it. When Jim died recently he left his collection of 3,000 cameras behind, in the former Salvation Army Hall he bought to house them.

Jim Matthew

Those readers were right; I enjoyed that. Had to smile at this bit:

"'He really enjoyed talking to people about it when they came into the hall,' says his widow Dorothy. 'I had to come down and rescue them sometimes because he did not know when to stop. He was a very good speaker. He didn't have a small talk but if it was something he was interested in he could talk for a long time.'"

Not quite coincidentally, do you know the difference between a collector and a hoarder? The collector is organized. If you have a lot of stuff and it's junked all over everywhere (why is my collar suddenly hot?), you're a hoarder; if it's all neat and organized, you're a collector. There's more to it than that, but that's the baseline of the distinction.

Three books
Apropos of Jim Matthew and his 3,000 cameras, here are three books about camera collecting that are highly enjoyable even if (or perhaps particularly if)  you have no aspirations to be a collector yourself:

Collecting and Using Classic Cameras by Ivor Matanle. This might as well be considered one of those delightful travel books with the writer as genial tourguide; Ivor's friendly character comes out on every page, and his delight in old cameras and the people and places he photographs with them is very evident. The cameras are interesting too. I consider this kin to one of my favorite books from childhood, Ralph Stein's The Great Cars, which is half grand tour and half memoir and similarly charming.

Jason Schneider on Camera Collecting: A Fully Illustrated Handbook of Articles Originally Published in Modern Photography. Jason Schneider is the Dean of American camera collecting, and he's a fine writer too, which makes his passion come alive. He understands these old devices like few others, and has the knowledge to put them in a holistic perspective. If you like this book, you might have to "collect" volumes two and three as well.

Our friend Todd Gustavson's Camera: A History of Photography from Daguerreotype to Digital. Todd, as longtime readers of TOP already know from our 2016 article "A Visit to the Treasure Vaults," is curator of the George Eastman Museum's vast camera collection. Not only is this book far more comprehensive and thorough than most books about cameras, but Todd's "portraits" of the cameras are excellent (in 2016 and perhaps still, he was using a Nikon Dƒ and a manual-focus Micro-Nikkor 55mm to document the collection).

Leicas line the walls
I had an early encounter with camera collecting. When I was young, there was an elderly gentleman who had a camera store on a major thoroughfare in Washington, D.C. I coveted a Leica at the time, and he sold them, so I went to investigate. I found a shop that was stuffed to the gills with endless rows of old Leicas of every sort; perfect. When I presented myself, he sized me up and said slowly, "You would like to purchase a Leica camera." As much a statement as a question, it somehow managed to convey skepticism without being at all impolite. I took him to a bank of cameras near the front of the store and pointed to the M3 I wanted, which sat among rows of other M3's. "How much is that one?"

He looked at me about as if I had offered to cut off his pinkie finger with a dull knife.

"That is not for sale," he said curtly. "These Leicas you see around you are for display only."

Since then I've encountered several other proprietors who preside over what are purported to be "shops" but are actually collections. You can't talk them out of much. There might be a few things for sale—the then-current Leica catalog, in that gentleman's case I regret that his name, which I retained for years, has sifted out of the memory bank. But they are really collectors, and would no more sell a piece of their collection than they would sell you a tooth!

[UPDATE: It was Heller's Camera in Bethesda, Maryland. Andrew Heller, who was Hungarian, died in 2004, and you really should read his obituary—pretty sensational. I had no idea. He was a photographer of important world events too.]

Have you ever seen the A+E show "American Pickers"? They occasionally come across a junkyard owner who won't actually sell them anything. I've also known at least two people—one a book guy, one a camera guy—who owned shops because it facilitated their collecting—they would cherry-pick the best of the items that flowed through their shops for their own collections. (I never got to see either collection, more's the pity, although there's still time.)

I did eventually own an M3 for a while, though. Jason Schneider can tell you all about the M3, and do a much better job than I can.

Mike
(Thanks to a number of tipsters)

Original contents copyright 2020 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.

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Paul Judice: "I worked for a Leica collector/dealer in the early eighties. He sold new Leicas to doctors (we were near the Houston Medical Center) and displayed rarities for admirers to view. The downside to this was that the 'museum patrons' ate up so much time with questions about items we weren't even selling."

John Shriver: "Heller's Camera in Bethesda, Maryland had a wonderful collection of Japanese Leica clones in the 1970s. They were in the Air Rights Building on Wisconsin Avenue. Never bought a Leica there, but bought film, and dropped off film for processing by Colorfax. Run by a fine European gentleman."

Mike replies: That was it! Thanks. Found out more about Andrew Heller now that you mentioned the name, and added it to the post.

Funny, as I was writing this post, my brain suggested "Andrew Heller" but I thought, no, that can't be it, because I had a high school classmate named Andy Heller. I assumed I was remembering the wrong name.

Jim Simmons: "Michael's Camera in Melbourne, Australia has the best camera collection I've ever seen. Every age, every format, almost every variation of Leica made."

Albert Smith: "I own the Ivor Matanle book. I was really into classic cameras and after thumbing through this book in a bookstore (remember those?), I bought it within two minutes. I own several of the cameras within, but what really got me was his narrative descriptions of the quality of the older optics. This was often simply accepting the flaws of pre-computer designed lenses and embracing '...pleasing roundness and slight softness of the image' or 'the curious characteristic of defined yet slightly unsharp detail.' I enjoyed this book decades ago and your post here made me pull it off of the shelf again."

Tom Burke: "Ivor Matanle! I used to have that very book. I think I donated it somewhere when I realised that I was never going to actually collect, let alone use, any of the cameras he mentioned in it. He also used to write an occasional guest column in Amateur Photographer, especially during Garry Coward-Williams' editorship. I kept a couple of issues celebrating 'Leica: 50 years of Leica M' (2004) and '80 Years of Leica' (2005), and Ivor had a lengthy article in each. (And from ferreting around about AP I have just learned that Roger Hicks died last year. Today is not a good day....)"

David Brown: "I was told (years ago) that I had crossed over from photographer to 'collector' when I bought a six-foot-high cabinet to keeps the cameras in. Alas, it's no longer large enough."

Jeff (partial comment): "Mr. Heller sold me my first Leica in the '80s. He also convinced me to buy Summicrons, particularly a 35mm to start. I asked him about a Summilux, and he interrupted with his thick Hungarian accent, forcefully saying 'Summicron.' I started to say that I read about this or that, and he again cut me off, 'Summicron.' This continued for another 10 minutes or so. I bought an M6 and a 35mm Summicron.

"I visited many times over the years, and when he and his wife were too old to keep up the shop, I was one of the people he approached to determine if I had any interest in buying. That likely would have been a disaster for anyone, given what was to quickly change in the industry.

"I still often think of him as I handle my M10, M Monochrom, and SL2 (with some old and new Summicrons!). I wonder what he’d make of all this digital Leica stuff. Probably not much; he was an old school guy, happy to share his well earned wisdom. And he loved Rollei, too."

Bob Curtis: "His book is available at Amazon, under his more Hungarian name, Andor Heller."

Comments

[ashok viswanathan]

there is one more excellent book which is more of a reference guide called - "Mc Keowns - cameras.. its a thick volume and excellent -packed with camera information and a valuation guide. not cheap. a serious collector or anyone with an interest in old cameras should own a copy.

[Chip McDaniel]

The collector/shopkeeper phenomenon can extend to all reaches. After we bought our house, I walked into a Gravely equipment dealership looking for the Leica of lawn mowers, blanched at the cost of a walk-behind tractor ($14,000, and this was 25 years ago) and was about to slink away when my eye lit on an old model, like the ones I remembered from my boyhood. When I asked how much that one was, the proprietor archly told me that it was not for sale, but that it was worth $50,000. I have been paying someone to mow my lawn ever since.

[Michel Hardy-Vallée]

The Leica story... that reminds me of a similar encounter I had once in Toronto. There was this used camera store downtown, near Henry's, that had a big wall of FSU cameras (Kiev, FED, etc). I was getting rangefinder-curious at the time, so I checked them out.

I kindly ask the guy at the counter if I could see that particular item behind the counter. He looked at me as if I was a chump, not worth his precious time and cigarettes (yeah, he was smoking in a camera store, so it's not like we were in premium land...).

He gives me a "Show me the money first". Show you the money? Before I look at your smelly crap? Yes, mister smoker wanted to be sure I was a "serious" customer.

I told him to shove it, and I hope he's out of business since. The nerve...

[Speed]

An online reference includes the statement, " ... we are social beings as well as individuals."

My experience with collectors (mostly cars) is that they form groups that extend beyond their collections to include non-collector family and friends. They will toil singly studying, perfecting and using their collected goods. And they will come together in groups and clubs to study, perfect use and admire their collected goods. Strong and long-lasting friendships often develop separate from the collections.

Sometimes they operate blogs.

[Tom]

Your first attempt to purchase a Leica was similar to mine. I picked out a nice looking M4 and while I was looking it over the shop owner asked me if I was planning to use it. He put both hands over it, protectively, as he said it. He ended up selling me an M6 instead.

[Jeff]

Pro Photo on Pennsylvania Ave?

[Crabby Umbo]

I swear I was in that camera store in Bethesda in the '80's sometime. My pals had just moved to D.C and I used to go back and forth between Milwaukee and D.C. visiting them, and for parties (I used to be able to get a round trip ticket on Ozark airlines, from Milwaukee, to St. Louis, to Washington National for $139.00).

I opened my advertising photo studio in Milwaukee about the same time they all decided to leave, or I would have gone with them. I didn't follow until the late '90's.

I remember the store being very 'quiet', and when I asked about certain cameras, he mentioned prices that were far, far out of 'whack' from what I researched. No big deal, because I just "wanted" an M2, but I didn't need one for work. Even when I moved there later, compared to all my experience in Chicago and Milwaukee: D.C. was a huge "photo-journalism town, so all 35mm. For the years I was there, I did a lot of buying in Baltimore...

[Jeff]

I was going to say Andrew Heller, and post his obit, but you said DC, not Bethesda. Mr. Heller sold me my first Leica in the '80s. He also convinced me to buy Summicrons, particularly a 35mm to start. I asked him about a Summilux, and he interrupted with his thick Hungarian accent, forcefully saying “Summicron.” I started to say that I read about this or that, and he again cut me off, “Summicron.” This continued for another 10 minutes or so. I bought an M6 and a 35 Summicron. I visited many times over the years, and when he and his wife were too old to keep up the shop, I was one of the people he approached to determine any interest in buying. That likely would have been a disaster for anyone, given what was to quickly change in the industry. I still often think of him as I handle my M10, M Monochrom and SL2 (with some old and new Summicrons!). I wonder what he’d make of all this digital Leica stuff. Probably not much; he was an old school guy, happy to share his well earned wisdom. And he loved Rollei, too.

[scott kirkpatrick]

I think there were a whole lot of 'em. I had an IBM colleague named Andy Heller, too. Not a photographer, though.

[Jeff]

I bought a Leica iiia with a collapsible lens at Heller’s. He told me the month it was made from the serial number. I don’t remember the year I bought it but he was moving slowly and had either a cot or a sofa to rest on in the back room so he was not well.

[Bruce Appelbaum]

About 25 years ago, I wanted to buy a telescope. Not far away was a one-man-band dealer who had the lowest prices on Meade 'scopes. He also had the reputation of being so eccentric that he would not sell anything to anybody he didn't like when meeting for the first time in his showroom.

Despite cash in hand and 'scope in stock, I left empty-handed.

It was crazy -- the guy used to advertise in the astronomy magazines and solicited phone orders, but used to leave his phone off the hook if he couldn't be bothered. He eventually retired. Or perhaps was dispatched by a disgruntled customer.

[Bill Pearce]

Mike,

You have pushed the memory button in my brain. There was a small camera shop here in bucolic Kansas operated by an older gentleman, whose background was not common knowledge. He was primarily a Nikon dealer, and knew their product like no one else. He had a personal collection of Nikon SLR's and RF's the he often mentioned but were never shown. He had all the little oddball accessories, and as well was familiar with all the oddball Leica accessories identified with letters rather than numbers.

I still have my first Nikon I purchased from him, a blsck F/std. prism with 35mm/2. Call me a hoarder.

Bill Pearce

[David B Graham]

(why is my collar suddenly hot?)

I'm stealing that line. Best one I've heard in a while.

[Brian Stewart]

You're probably right about the collector/shopkeeper phenomenon, but there is another possible explanation. It's possible that Heller's Camera was the photo equivalent of The Piano Shop on the Left Bank (title of a 2002 book by Thad Carhart). You couldn't just walk in and buy a (restored second-hand) piano, you had to be considered worthy, which meant being recommended by an existing customer. It does sound like Andrew Heller was a collector, but I wonder whether there wasn't a touch of the left bank piano shop in there somewhere as well. Tom's comment about the M4/M6 makes me think there might be. Is it part of old-school European culture?

[Christopher J May]

Episode 130 of the Classic Lenses Podcast With Dan Tamarkin of Tamarkin Camera in Chicago is worth a listen for some of the idiosyncrasies of Leica collecting:

https://www.classiclensespodcast.com/e/130-dan-tamarkin-and-the-leica-hysterical-society/

[Bear.]

So what am I if I have (um - let's say hypothetically) some apparently random boxes full of apparently disorganised stuff but I know where everything is (provided no-one moves the boxes)?

[John McNiff]

Sadly, Ivor Matanle died in early January 2019. He was perceived in the UK as the authority on classic cameras and featured, or wrote, in many editions of “Amateur Photography”, a long established UK weekly magazine.

[Kodachromeguy]

I wonder if Mr Judice above is referring to George Lange Cameras in Houston, Texas? I recall the prices there being exceedingly high but nevertheless, he remained in business. When Rollei went through one of its bouts of bankruptcy around 1982 or 83, Mr Lange sold off his stock of filters and little accessories, and I bought a bunch of them at very reasonable price. It is written that astronaut Wally Shirra bought his Hasselblad camera from Mr Lange in 1962.

[John Ironside]

I think I might have the camera in the top photo on the cover of Ivor Matanle's book. If I'm right, it's a Voigtländer Vito B.

One of these, a f/2.8 Color Skopar with the lovely brightline finder was my first proper camera, about 1958. I saved up my Christmas and birthday present money for what seemed like 2 years, and bought a clean used one in Bond St, London.

It served me very well, and despite exposures worked out by rule of thumb, I still have a few prints I'm proud of.

[Simon]

I understand the desire to collect nice things but I feel it's a terribly shame that such brilliantly designed and made devices as Leicas (and other brands) are not used to for their original purpose - to make photos, even if it's just occasionally.