A picture is worth a thousand words

Do you collect things? I do. I think it is part of being a junker.While I do not consider myself a pack rat, I do love to collect things. Old things. I collect vintage rolling pins, suitcases, dishes, washboards, picnic baskets, mirrors...and old cameras.
While I am not a particularly  good photographer, I do love the look of old cameras. Some of them remind me of fond memories when I was a little girl, standing with my brother in our Sunday best,facing the glaring sun, squinting our eyes so tight we looked Chinese, as my Mom held her Brownie camera about waist high and looked down into it to snap our picture. It seemed we had to hold that smiling still life pose for 15 minutes before the shot would actually be taken- film was a valuable commodity and not to be wasted on blurry shots of a little kid flinching, twirling her Easter purse.
These old cameras are just so neat to look at, with all of their hidden features and pop out parts.  These are the cameras that once upon a time took all of those oh so cool vintage photos I treasure,whether I know the people in the photos or not... lots of history right here sitting on my hutch.
I have my Mom's original Brownie camera, 2 that belonged to my step dad way back in the day, and the rest were thrifted from yard sales. I have never paid more than $5 for any one of them, and I am on cloud 9 for an entire week when I find one out junkin' that I do not already have.
These cameras come from a time when folks did not hap-hazardly snap 55 shots of one thing, and pick the best shot to print. You didn't make 12 extra copies of that best print for friends and family to look at, post on their refrigerators, or toss away.
Oh no, no, no. It was a big deal to be the proud owner of one of these cameras, and quite a production start to finish taking photos way back when. The film inside was able to take something like a precious 12 snapshots, and you couldn't develop the prints until you got to the end of that roll. You didn't know if you got a great picture until you picked up the pictures a week later from the camera shop (later the corner drug store, like Thriftys and Pay Less) That was when you saw that you had cut Uncle Roger's head off in the Christmas dinner shot.
I keep my collection housed on the hutch in my home office. I just love the vintage feel and warmth they add to the room. Take 3, 4, or 10 of anything alike, and group them. Instantly you have a point of interest in the room, a conversation piece, and personality.
That's the wonderful thing about collections. It can really be anything, but somehow groupings of same items suddenly make the ordinary... unique.

Comments

[clarice]

Oh I collect, lots of things. But never cameras. I actually never liked cameras, till I got my digital. Now it is love and I am looking at cameras in anew light. You collection is amazing !!! You have "the" eye. Clarice

[Teresa]

I love your collections. Mine are old suitcases, silver, and actually I have a few old cameras too. Love your blog!

[Paula]

Great vintage camera collection! I'm not a collector of anything specific, but a lover of MANY things!! I love vintage linens and aprons. Probably the closest I come to an actual collection.