a book for November …

Posted on November 24, 2024 by Robert

lot 606 – CAMERAS by Brian Coe

Toronto. .. to paraphrase the Walter Lord tale, “A Night to Remember” about the Titanic – I Read it about sixty or so years go. One of the books in today’s auction is CAMERAS by the late Brian Coe, curator of Kodak’s Museum in the UK at the time.

Other soft cover books by Brian were the principle basis for the talk I gave years ago during the infamous “dog and pony” shows I did with the late Don Douglas and his Ansco collection.

A copy of “CAMERAS” is lot 606 in today’s PHSC fall estate auction. It is a delightful book covering the history of cameras from the 1830s to the days of instant pictures. What adds to its appeal is the profuse use of line drawings and colour drawings of epic camera designs and how their features work.

Someone will take home a great book from 1978!

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by any other name …

Posted on November 23, 2024 by Robert

A 35mm Kiev with case is lot 48 in Sunday’s auction.

Toronto. One of my co-workers commented years ago that a client (he was in the debt consolidation business at the time) had given him a new ‘Leica’ and the accessory lenses. Well, that sparked my interest.

My family visited his and after some chatter, Henry took me to the bedroom, bent down, and slid a cardboard box out from under the bed. Nestled inside with  a few lenses was a brand new … Kiev! Not a Leica but a Russian copy (sort of) of the famous German Contax. The Kiev was manufactured at the time in the Ukraine.

I have seen the odd one over the years, so imagine my surprise when this little beauty showed up as lot 48 in this Sunday’s auction! When the Kiev was manufactured, Germany having lost WW2 was thoughtfully ‘quartered’ by the victors – UK, USA, France and … Russia. Soon copies of high end cameras emerged from the USSR. Be they Leicas or Contaxes, they were made in the Ukraine.

Join us at the Sunday Estate auction – free parking, free admission and a very friendly crowd. A great way to pass a Sunday afternoon. A slide show of the lots and directions, times, etc are shown here.

 

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lots and lots to list

Posted on November 22, 2024 by Robert

lot list fall 2024 auctin

Toronto. Our fall estate auction is coming up quickly (this coming Sunday, Nov 24, 2024).

In addition to the slide show of lots, Clint has provided a list of items in the auction. Both the photos and list are updated frequently on this post – be sure to check the post frequently as the auction approaches.

Free admission; free parking; friendly atmosphere. The above link to the post and poster give details. Come on out to augment your collection/user gear!

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if it moves, shoot it ….

Posted on November 21, 2024 by Robert

lot 384 – a GAF (Ansco) movie camera

Toronto. The old military expression was “If it moves salute it; fi it doesn’t, paint it” In this post I had in mind movie cameras. Our coming auction this Sunday has a wealth of lots – camera, lenses, movie cameras, still cameras and more.

Come down to Long Branch and enjoy the excitement of the auction – you may even get something to fill that hole in your collection/user gear. If not, how about a unique Christmas gift? See this post/poster for details (and a slide show of the lots). Free admission, free parking, and a chance to greet friends old and new. What a great way to enjoy a Sunday afternoon!

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origami and photography

Posted on November 20, 2024 by Robert

lot 459 is a lovely blue Agfa Ansco folding camera

Toronto. You may wonder what on earth the Japanese art of paper folding has to do with our favourite pastime – photography. Glad you asked. Origami takes a flat object like a sheet of paper and in a few folds, makes a recognizable 3D object. Now reverse this! In the first half of last century, one camera design was the folding camera. A bellows separated the film and lens board for exposure of a subject.

When finished, pressing down on a unique pair of braces collapsed the bellows and lens board into the body of the camera and folded over the lens baseboard to cover the hole the bellows, etc. disappeared into. In fact, Kodak made so many cameras of this design that they are affectionately known as “folders” regardless of the maker.

Other makers used the folder design for cameras (like the Agfa-Ansco camera at left). Everyone needs at least one folder in their collection (I have).

Come on down to our auction this  Sunday (see post/poster here). The post includes a frequently updated slide show of the lots as photos are received. So far the slide show has been updated at least seven times! Free admission, free parking, friendly folk, etc.

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lots of little boxes

Posted on November 19, 2024 by Robert

sample box lot from our fall estates auction Sunday

Toronto. Our fall auction on November 24th (Sunday)  will have many box lots – this feature means a successful bid will take all in the box (the auctioneer will emphasize the rare case when a box lot is not so covered – usually books).

Drop by on Sunday to add to your collection or user gear. Free admission, free parking and a great way to see fellow collectors and friends be they old or new!

The post/poster here gives details and a slide show of lots as they are photographed (seven updates have been made as of November 17th).

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getting to the auction day …

Posted on November 18, 2024 by Robert

lot 179 – a digital Canon EOS and lens etc.

Toronto. …. with apologies to Dennis Waterman and the theme song for New Tricks. Our fall auction date of November 24th is less than a week away.

Mark your calendar now! It’s a great way to spend a late fall Sunday afternoon.

All the gory details are in this post/poster. And there is a slide show too. Many of the lots are on display now (six updates so far) – the post will continue to be updated as more photos arrive.

Come on down to Long Branch – free admission; free parking; and a way to add to your collection/user gear. Besides you will have chance to greet many friends old and new. Any questions? Drop Clint (our president AND auctioneer) a line at fair@phsc.ca.

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flights of film …

Posted on November 17, 2024 by Robert

Lot 245 shows just some of the many film lots ready for the Nov 24 auction

Toronto. … or is it flights of fancy? Whatever. We are closing in on our fall auction date of November 24, 2024!

Be sure to join us and have a great Sunday, see old friends, find lots of neat goodies for the collection or user gear.

Details are dead simple! Just see the post/poster here. There are photos of many lots too. Free parking, free admission, easy access to the area. Be cozy indoors on this coolish November day.

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hot dawg, it’s a stereo …

Posted on November 16, 2024 by Robert

c1903 Leroy – combination stereo and panoramic camera from France – Courtesy of Brian Coe, AB Nordbok,  and Crown Publishing

Toronto. … with apologies to the late Sam Shopsowitz and his catchy jingle. Sam’s daughter, Karen, Spoke to the society back on September 15, 2004 about her father’s home movies. This post is on a different topic – a rare and unusual stereo camera c1903.

In the later 1800s – early 1900s, the French seemed to have a passion for making unusual cameras. The ‘Leroy’ is typical. It is both a stereo camera and a panoramic camera depending on the rotation of one lens (rotation automatically swings the septum plate to block the second (and unused) lens.

The line drawing is from the late Brian Coe’s book ‘Cameras‘, copyrighted 1978 by AB Nordbok, Sweden and printed in the same year in the USA by Crown Publishers. Coe’s book is eye-catching as the illustrations are a mix of line drawings and drawn coloured illustrations – a book on photography and cameras with no photographs! If you don’t have a copy in your collection – keep an eye out for one! I bought mine new a year after publication and it is very slowly discolouring on each page edge (any book etc printed after the mid 1800s likely uses paper made from wood chips (pulp) and is prone to self destruction by the very air in a room converting the pulp and moisture into sulphuric acid).

 

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the Japanese Camera Museum c1992

Posted on November 15, 2024 by Robert

Japanese Camera Museum in Tokyo

Toronto. From time to time the Journal reprints articles of interest to PHSC members. In issue 18-4, editor Roseborough chose to reprint a fully illustrated article on the camera museum in Tokyo. “This is another in our series of photographic museums throughout the world. It originally was printed in issues 16 and 17 of Olympus magazine VisionAge. Our condensed version is printed with the kind permission of VisionAge Editorial Office. Olympus Optical Co. Ltd. Tokyo. Japan.”

Enjoy this article in the fullest by joining the PHSC and viewing it in pdf format on the members-only DVD. It’s easy to join us, see above (and at right) for helpful means. Any Questions, just give Lilianne a shout at member@phsc.ca.

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