The Man Who Owned 3,000 Cameras (bbc.com) 29
One of the largest camera collections in the world is hidden away in a village hall in a Fife coastal town -- but hardly anybody knows it is there. From a report: At least 3,000 cameras, including some dating back well over a century, belonged to the late Neville "Jim" Matthew. He retired to the picturesque East Neuk village of St Monans after a career that took him around the world. He took over the former Salvation Army hall to store his treasured collection. Inside the hall, row after row of cameras, accessories and memorabilia fill the shelves. They include stereoscopic and 3D cameras as well as East European models, including many that were rare in the West. At the heart of the collection is an array of Kodak Brownie cameras - featuring almost every model ever produced. The Brownie was the first affordable camera and could be bought for just one dollar when it was first sold in 1900. Jim had wanted his collection to be an open attraction, but he was getting older and in ill health, and the task posed too big a challenge. Instead, he was limited to opening once a year for the village festival and for occasional private viewings.
Great philanthropic opportunity.... (Score:2)
What an amazing collection. Hopefully someone out there will be able to step in help out and turn his collection into a proper museum.
I'm sure Mr. Matthew would have loved to share it with even more people.
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Re:$1 in 1900 is about $30 today (Score:5, Informative)
True, However the dollar value is only part of what we consider the cost of living.
Back in 1900's food and clotting were a much larger percentage of ones salary. Where lower-middle class could spend a good chunk of their paycheck just on necessary survival . However they also had a lower standard of prosperity than today. Electricity, Telephone, Radio which we consider necessary, were luxuries back then.
So things kinda balanced out for that $1-$30 price parity. However back then with high food prices. Spending $30 for a Camera, would probably be closer to us spending $100 for a device. Where it isn't so much people would go broke, however more than just an impulse buy.
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Are you sure on that 1:30 ratio? Maybe it is buying power, I don't know...
In the early 1900s, you could buy a new or lightly used Colt SAA revolver (the peacemaker!) with a $20 gold piece or perhaps a little more. Today, a circulated used non-collector grade $20 gold piece is worth about $2000. Strangely, you can buy a lightly used Colt SAA for about $2500.
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Gold is an inflation resistant currency. But it doesn't offer compound interest.
Also the US Dollar is not Gold Backed anymore. So your comparison of the cost of gold isn't that good.
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True, However the dollar value is only part of what we consider the cost of living
There is a perceptual value in what people considered to be something for which it is worthwhile to pay a lot. The first Leica (1929?) cost a month's typical family's wages yet they could not keep up with demand. They still work fine today if cared for, like a hammer or sewing needle or watch. Consumer credit really opened things up. To buy something you can not actually pay for at the time of purchase. Shipping domestic production off to countries with very low production costs was big too. Debasement of t
Used to be an impressive feat (Score:2)
This would have taken a lifetime for many. Of course now you could probably replicate this with eBay without much trouble.
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Except loads of cash.
Re: Used to be an impressive feat (Score:1)
This would have taken a lifetime for many
Indeed. Clearly Imelda Marcos deserves greater recognition. [vice.com]
Much to see. (Score:1)
The Man Who Owned 7,000 Books (Score:2)
I guess that might be how people would think of me [lawrenceperson.com] if I died today.
That and the writing and blogging.
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That is better than the title I would get, "The man who owned twenty terabytes of hentai porn".
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Oh shit, did I just forget to check "Post Anonymously"?!
I meant to write "The man who owned twenty terabytes of hentai tentacle porn".
That was a close call!
Scotland (Score:3)
For anyone else wondering where the hell East Neuk was located.
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For anyone else wondering where the hell East Neuk was located.
I would mod you up if I had any points. I also looked it up after having no idea at all where Fife or East Neuk are.
MKBHD? (Score:1)
Come on... you all thought it.
I doubt it (Score:2)
On value (Score:1, Interesting)
Hi, by coincidence, I am a camera collector, too. This is the least value collection, I could recall. It is hard to judge WHAT was guiding the person to collect these particular incarnations of no sentiment whatsoever.
As an explanation, I could share, that we, collectors, strive to either glorify the magic of exposed wood, or that of exposed brass, or sophistication, inventiveness of optics' design, possibly character of a distant period to be grasped by the observer. Essentially, none is present in this co
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Hi, by coincidence, I am a camera collector, too. This is the least value collection, I could recall. It is hard to judge WHAT was guiding the person to collect these particular incarnations of no sentiment whatsoever.
As an explanation, I could share, that we, collectors, strive to either glorify the magic of exposed wood, or that of exposed brass, or sophistication, inventiveness of optics' design, possibly character of a distant period to be grasped by the observer. Essentially, none is present in this collection, thus it is up to you, to be mislead by this particular "sensation".
Jeez, nice 'better than you' comment.
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Or, "may you want to know slightly better ", because of coincident position to speak on subject.
Actually, you are wrong, since I do not feel better, having to state, what was stated, quite an opposite.
I do respect other collectors generally, since I am myself this kind.
Isn't it you, who is limited to grasp that much, or have better kind of intuition?
Kodak (while collection is mostly this) was very special figure to not only add value, which occasionally happened to happen by energy injected into the act, bu
Around here we call such people... (Score:2)
Photographers.
Another camera evangelist in India (Score:1)
Good boy (Score:2)
Thanks... (Score:2)
I hope it isn't shuttered from the public.