Author Archives: Robert

a fatal flaw

Posted on August 10, 2026 by Robert

Toronto. In the late 1950s Zeiss Ikon decided to leap on the high end SLR bandwagon, announcing their Contarex in 1958. This massive 35mm camera hit the North American shores in early 1960 after the camera’s lens system was redesigned. … Continue reading →

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not your average compass …

Posted on August 9, 2026 by Robert

Toronto.  …every boy scout has a compass to find the way back home. Ditto savvy hunters etc. The Compass camera discussed here was acquired at one of our earlier fairs. In the minicam revolution, the utilitarian Leica led the way. … Continue reading →

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it’s magic …

Posted on August 8, 2026 by Robert

Toronto. Projectors as we know them were called ‘magic lanterns’ decades ago because they displayed a picture, not just an illumination. Some collectors, like Mr Lambert, search for the various lantern slides and magic lanterns common two centuries ago. The … Continue reading →

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a window on things

Posted on August 7, 2026 by Robert

Toronto. The PHSC welcomes all photographica collectors. While we focus on Canadian studios and contributions to photography, we are world wide in our interests. The society was formed in the fall of 1974 and became active the following year filling … Continue reading →

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open invite

Posted on August 6, 2026 by Robert

Toronto. Members of the PHSC have at least one thing in common: they collect photographica. If you too collect or have an interest in photographica and photographic history but are not a member, we encourage you to join this like … Continue reading →

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freedom

Posted on August 5, 2026 by Robert

Toronto. Today in Canada we often take freedom for granted. Sadly, not so in Europe in the late 1930s and during WW2. The late George Gilbert spoke to the PHSC a few times, in one case, about the Freedom Train. … Continue reading →

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brushing up on things …

Posted on August 4, 2026 by Robert

Toronto. … like collections. Summer is a great time to reorganize a collection and weed out dups, no longer interesting things, etc. If there are only a few, they might  end up in one of our auctions; if there are … Continue reading →

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lady bug, lady bug …

Posted on August 3, 2026 by Robert

Toronto. … fly away home … As we used to say as children when ever we spotted this tiny beetle with its obvious markings. Collectors often search for old photographs. An ancient version of the photo at left might be … Continue reading →

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remembering Walter Shean

Posted on August 2, 2026 by Robert

Toronto. Walter died on March 3, 2002 at 69 years of age. He was active in the PHSC and a Charter member. The PHSC auctioned his collection for his estate. The late Larry Boccioletti, a founder of the PHSC wrote … Continue reading →

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moon shot

Posted on August 1, 2026 by Robert

Toronto. The heavenly bodies have been around for millions of years from what we can tell. Some old photo collectors relish at discovering old photographs of the night skies, planets, moon, etc. At left is a very recent photograph of … Continue reading →

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