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| No,
it's not a giant insect: 1896
Sciopticon projected slides via a four-wick,
oil-burning light source. |
When
Fred Spira, some years ago sold his mail-order
company, Spiratone—that cornucopia of wonderfully
useful bargain-priced lenses, gadgets, and photo
whatnots—it quickly spiralled down and out
of our ad pages into nothingness.
What
would Spira do with the tidy sum he received?
He was immediately besieged by financial experts
only too willing to invest for him. Admitting
he wasn't an expert in the world of finance,
Fred decided to continue putting his money where
his heart was—into photography: historic
cameras, rare and unusual equipment, photos,
letters, photo literature, and signatures of
famous people in photography.
Fred
Spira's home became a treasure trove of the
usual and the incredible, most of it in extraordinary
condition. You could not take a step without
running into wonders—and we do mean a step.
Every rise on the staircase from first floor
to second was actually a pullout drawer filled
with surprises.
Now,
thanks to the enthusiasm and dedication of Fred's
son, Jonathan, the historical knowledge of Eaton
Lothrop Jr., and the intelligence of the publisher,
Aperture, much of the cream of Fred's collection
has been skimmed for a magnificently printed,
superbly designed book of glorious pictures
and excellent text based on Spira's writings.
In addition, Eaton Lothrop co-authored and Jonathan
Spira researched and oversaw the book's progress.
Never have cameras and equipment been so mouth-wateringly
photographed as in The History of Photography
as Seen Through the Spira Collection. It
covers pre-photography viewing and projection
systems right up to digital cameras. (You can
see many more images at www.spira.com.)
The
$75 tag may sound a bit pricey, but we're convinced
that any photo enthusiast will have a hard time
putting down this 231 page, 10x12-inch book.
It's the most exquisite camera-collecting history
ever printed.
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