mini-collections | vintage cameras

There are some vintage things I am a freak for collecting--handbags and purses, for example.  Midcentury floral dishes.  Things get a little crazy when it comes to these, but there are other things I consider mini-collections acquired here and there and a little more limited in their scope. About 11 years ago, I bid on a lot of vintage photos for artmaking purposes on ebay that happened to come with two old box cameras.  The purpose of the acquisition was more for the ephemera than the cameras, but I put them on a shelf in the studio and plotted ways to use them to house some sort of assemblage.   

A few years later, I was in a thriftstore in Rockford and spotted a Spartaflex across the room for $10.  A few years later, I was in a tiny town in upper Wisconsin and spotted a Roloflex for a steal at an antique shop.  Suddenly, I had a tiny collection of old cameras that I really loved and spawned me to get a little more familiar with the history of cameras and what these were capable. (though they are sadly all unworking) Like many of the things I have mini-collections of, Pyrex, pressed flower designs, embroidered wall hangings--the collection wasn't exactly intentional in the ways things like dishes and purses, and I don't go hunting them on ebay, for example, but I do love stumbling on new aquisitions.

While they are not in  working order, I think they are just really striking objects.  In a world where so much is always new and disposable, I love that they have their own sense of solidity and history.

Previous

Next