A Visit to the Camera Heritage Museum

There are not many museums devoted entirely to cameras, and I have only been to less than a handful of photographic history museums: Eastman House in Rochester, NY; The Argus Museum in Ann Arbor, MI; The American Photographic History Museum in Pittsburgh, PA, and now, the Camera Heritage Museum in Staunton,VA. Two of these museums are dedicated primarily to products of a single manufacturer - Kodak  (and of course, so much more) for Eastman House, and Argus, of course, at the Argus Museum - which has the distinction of being also at the site where the cameras were made.  The latter two museums are of wider representation, and of these, the Camera Heritage Museum by far, has the most diverse and comprehensive collection of cameras that I have seen.  

I stopped in Staunton last year, unaware of there being a camera museum there, and because we arrived late in the day, it was closed.  However, I knew that I would be passing by Staunton again, as it is off Interstate 81, not far from Lexington, VA, and on my way to the Film Photography Project HQ in New Jersey. On May 2, I was able to stop and spend a good deal of time before I had to hop back on the highway to NJ.  I met David Schwartz, the curator, and the person who has amassed a mind-blowing collection of cameras starting in 1968.  Located in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, Staunton is a charming place to visit with a lovely downtown with lots of shopping and dining options.  The Museum, which started out as a camera store, is open to the public, and a small fee gets you a self guided tour of the collection, and an Andrew Jackson gets you the curator-led tour, by Mr. Schwartz.  I opted for that, which also comes with a packet of information.  At the outset, I informed David of my experience with the world of vintage photography and intentions of doing a review.

David Schwartz, curator

The Camera Heritage Museum houses close to 7,000 cameras as well as photographs, advertising materials, vintage products and supplies, and other ephemera. There are numbered stations that feature items of importance in the history of photography, and David was of course, well-versed in all of them.  I did learn some things that I was unaware of that had to do with local involvement in the growth of photographic technology, and to see certain cameras that were previously owned by famous photographers was a treat.   While initially overwhelmed by the sheer number of cameras, I soon saw the organization by type and era, and amid all the glittering chrome, I found many wonderful examples of cameras that I had never previously seen in person.  The whole gamut of the history of analog  photography is represented -- from Daguerreotype cameras and images to the end of the development of film cameras.  

My images show - every case is chock-a-block with cameras.  Among those I saw a beautiful, mint-condition Kodak Ektra - the most complex and expensive 35mm camera made by Kodak. American manufacturers were represented by Argus, Kodak, Conley, Ansco, Univex, Perfex, Graphlex, Ciro, Falcon, etc. The German camera makers -- Leitz, Zeiss Ikon, Rollei, Ihagee, and lesser-known firms was well represented, as well as the Japanese Nikon, Canon, Miranda, Topcon, Minolta,Pentax, Ricoh, Olympus, and others.  Stereo cameras from 16mm to 5x7, spy cameras of all sorts, miniature cameras, large format, medium format, wet-plate, dry-plate, Polaroid, folders, box, underwater, and toy cameras. About the only aspect that was under-represented was cine cameras.  However, aside from the Kodak Brownie 8mm cameras, they had an Arriflex that was used by Leni Riefenstahl to shoot movies of the 1938 Olympics and Nazi propaganda films.

Exhibit 13 - Arriflex

It was interesting to see how many different models of the same Kodak camera, such as the Holiday Brownie, were made in the USA, Canada, Brazil, England, France, and Spain. Of course, the many colorful examples of the Art Deco Kodak Beau Brownie were on display, as were the multitudes of Kodak folders, box cameras, Instamatics, and two examples of the fantastic Kodak Ektra 35mm rangefinder.  If you are interested in Twins Lens Reflex - there are plenty to see.  I really got a thrill at seeing an actual Graflex KE-4 combat camera, which took 70mm cassettes.  It looks much like a GIANT Contax II camera, and was sometimes referred to as "Gulliver's Contax."  A Folmer Graflex "Big Bertha" is on display - and at 40 inches long and over 30 pounds, it's hard to imagine using it to photograph baseball games, but it did.  I could go on - there are many examples of famous cameras, and anyone with a love for things photographic will find their favorites at the Camera Heritage Museum.  

I think their exhibit of miniature cameras -spy cameras, such as the various Minoxes, Ricoh 16, Riken Steky, Secam Stylophot, Suzuki Optical Echo-8 (KGB spy camera), Minolta-16s, and a Tessina - is quite comprehensive, as is their collection of stereo cameras.  Whether your interest is in large wooden bellows cameras or the smallest spy camera, or anything in between, you'll enjoy the Camera Heritage Museum.

The Camera Heritage Museum is a 501 C3 non-profit corporation, and while the collection has been growing since the late 1960s, it became a non-profit museum in 2011.  Its location in Staunton, VA meshes with the local history of photography, which goes back to 1847.  There are a number of other historical museums in the area, and of course, the Shenandoah Valley is full of history.  The current building certainly is filled to the brim with photographica, and as a former museum professional, I can see that it will take some money to make the exhibits more attractive to a wider range of visitors.  I really enjoyed talking with David Schwartz, and hope that the museum is able to secure funds to ensure its perpetuity.  It's more than a small regional museum, as it encompasses the history of photography, and has a world-wide collection.  If you have any interest in photography, the museum is definitely worth the visit. The museum accepts donations of photographic items as well as monetary donations. Excess inventory, duplicates, and items that don't fit with their mission are sold on their eBay store - camera-and-palette, which is definitely worth looking up.

The Camera Heritage Museum is located at 1 West Beverley St., Staunton, VA. Take exit 222 off I-81 into the historic downtown. Museum hours are M-F, 9-5, and Saturdays, 9-2.  Phone number is 540-886-8535. Its web address is  www.cameraheritagemuseum.com  Admission is $5 - $20, depending on whether you want a self-guided tour, or a curator-led tour.