John Young’s 1898 Premo Model A Stereo camera
Toronto. In issue 24-4, the late Bill Belier continued to publish his column, “A Treasure From My Collection”. As you may know, Bill spent much of his career in photography. In the early days after WW2, as a sales representative, he made many friends including John Young, owner of this remarkably fine example of a stereo camera.
Bill’s column begins, “John Young became a collector of fine cameras not necessarily by design, but by circumstance. In a way, you might say that he was forced into it!
“John was not only “Young” in name, but in age and experience. He opened Young’s Cameras in 1947 in a low rent area on Queen Street, east of Parliament [Toronto]. He learned as he went along, never losing sight of his goal to eventually locate on Toronto’s “main drag” – Yonge Street.
“In 1953 he moved to an uptown area just north of Bloor. After 20 years the property was expropriated and he found a downtown location at 352 Yonge St. (just north of Dundas) where he would remain until his retirement in 1992.
“Over the years he attracted a loyal following of regular customers that appreciated the unhurried atmosphere of the store and the knowledgeable staff that he employed.” …
Of course members read all of Bill’s column in the issue 24-4 pdf file on the free members-only DVD/thumb drive. Not a member? Just see above (MEMBERSHIP) or at right (Membership). Questions? Drop Lilianne an email at member@phsc.ca.
