Italy 1952 – Compact – 127 film – Rare. Some designs are just Italian. Period. And sometimes design makes everything. Bencini, established in Milan in the late 1930’s was one of the flag bearers of the Italian camera market in the middle of last century. Most of the Bencini cameras were variations of a traditional … Read more48 Bencini
Comet III
France 1908 – Box Camera – 4×4 Plates – Rare. Introduced and sold in 1908 as the “one Franc camera” the Franceville No.1 was made of two shells in “black lacquer”, actually hardened papier-mâché obtained by molding and compression, is remarkably rigid and resistant to deformation. The camera is loaded using a small holder designed … Read more47 Natali, Collo & cie
Le Franceville No. 1bis
The one-Franc camera
Japan 1950 – Reflex TLR – Bolta film – Rare. The Tanzer was produced in the early 50s in Japan by the Nomura optical company. Not much is known about the Nomura company, which apparently only produced this camera in two versions (with and without flash synchronisation) and did not leave a notable mark. The … Read moreNomura
Tanzer “smile”
Japan 1948 – Lighter – Lighter fluid – Rare. The K.K.W. Camera Lighter is very well known to camera collectors as it is often the first non-camera item to join their collection. The K.K.W. Lighter is a beautiful example of Japanese craftsmanship. It was first manufactured in 1948 in Occupied Japan as a wick lighter … Read moreK.K.W.
Camera Lighter
France 1937 – Subminiature – Custom film – Rare. The Eljy and Super-Eljy cameras were produced by Lumiere (from the Lumiere brothers) from 1937 and are among the most recognizable French miniature cameras. They were extremely popular cameras as they were built with almost no major evolution from 1937 to 1951 when they were replaced … Read more45 Lumiere
Super Eljy
Germany 1957 – Reflex TLR – 127 film – Rare. Descendant of the Rolleiflex Baby of 1931, this version popularly known as the “Grey Baby” Rolleiflex, was introduced in 1957, it was then replaced by a black version in 1963. This model helped kick-start a brief boom for 38 mm “super slides” whose slide mounts … Read more43 Rollei
Rolleiflex “grey baby”
Switzerland 1957 – Subminiature – 35 mm – Rare. The Tessina, produced in Lugano in 1957, and is probably the smallest half-frame 35mm camera ever built. And possibly the strangest. It is a twin-lens reflex with pop-up viewfinder and a clock-work motor drive designed for waist-level inconspicuous photography. The almost 400 parts used in making … Read more41 Tessina
Automatic
Like a luxury watch
Japan 1961 – Compact – 35 mm – Rare. The Nikon F, introduced in April 1959, was Nikon’s first SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera and one of the most advanced cameras of its day. Camera of choice for most photojournalists across the globe, very few cameras scream adventure and travel as much as the Nikon … Read more40 Nikon
Nikon F
The legend
England 1949 – Compact – 35 mm – Rare. The Ilford Advocate is a white-enameled die-cast aluminium alloy 35mm camera made in England by Kennedy Instruments, a subsidiary of Ilford. The Advocate was introduced in 1949 and presented as a “landmark in British camera construction”, giving “the lie to the assertion that we cannot hope … Read more38 Ilford
Advocate
The British legend
Germany 1936 – Compact – 127 film – Rare. The Gewirette is a small viewfinder-type camera made by Wirgin in Wiesbaden. The name Gewirette is derived from the company name Wirgin Brothers (GErrüder WIrgin). The Gewinette is a wonderfully crafted camera whose lens collapses into the body to make it more compact. To load and … Read more36 Wirgin
Gewirette
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