Spira, who is a technologist by trade, also collects early
electronic and digital cameras—items from a relatively recent era that he
believes is underacknowledged and ripe for growth. Digital cameras, he says,
still fulfill the definition of the word "photography" and can be seen as a
component of the evolution of filmless photography that dates as far back as
1839. The history of photography has witnessed a series of such leaps, from wet
plate to dry plate and from roll film to digital, each of which led to more
portability and greater ease of use.More specialized types of cameras also spark enthusiasts’
interest. Spy cameras dating from the 1880s onward—so-called because they were
made to impersonate other objects, such as matchboxes, pens, books or women’s
purses—are popular among collectors. "The very best camera we have is a French
camera in the shape of a pistol called an ‘Ejalbert photo revolver,’" Weiner
says. "It’s fabulous. It looks exactly like a pistol from that time period, with
a lens inside the barrel." Weiner estimates its worth somewhere between $85,000
and $110,000. Christie’s held its first sale of spy cameras in 1991, an auction
that is still considered a landmark event. "That sale made more than $600,000,
considerably in excess of our expectations, and we discovered there was a whole
untapped market," Pritchard says. Spy cameras are now included in other camera
auctions. Christie’s has also seen an interest in the stereoscopic cameras used
to make images for stereoscopes, which were, as Kulinski puts it, "the Victorian
parlor’s equivalent of television." Whatever their reason for collecting, passion drives most
camera devotees. While online auctions at Christie’s and other houses have made
the buying and selling of antique cameras more efficient, this pastime demands a
rare dedication to seek out truly unusual pieces. "You have to have an emotional
reason for buying a camera. When you look at a camera, you have to feel a
connection, a tug at the heartstrings," Spira says. "You have to be willing to
drive 12 hours in the pouring rain and walk in the mud at [Massachusetts
antiques fair] Brimfield at 4 in the morning."
Lee Sherman is a San Francisco–based freelance
writer.
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