A new book by Luther College professor Aaron Lurth invites Decorah readers to see film cameras as more than tools. Small Luxuries: Film Cameras connects camera technology with American culture, major historical events and the people who helped build the photography industry.
Lurth, a visual communication professor and director of Luther’s visual communication program, published the 128-page hardcover Aug. 4 through the Quarto Group, according to Luther College News. Decorah residents can purchase the book through the Luther Book Shop or online.
A visual history rather than a technical manual
The book is aimed at a broad audience. While it explains basic camera mechanics, its central focus is the history and cultural meaning of cameras rather than specifications or equipment guides.
Lurth follows the development of film-camera technology through major manufacturers, notable models and influential figures. The coffee-table-style volume includes photographs, illustrations, vintage advertisements, newspaper clippings and other visual materials.
About one-third of the images were sourced and photographed by Lurth using cameras he owns or was able to access. Among the oldest cameras he photographed was a 1909 Kodak No. 3A Folding Brownie.
That visual approach gives the book a wider scope than a collection of brand histories. It explores the people and historical events connected to the camera industry, offering context for readers interested in photography, graphic design, cultural history and the stories behind familiar camera companies.
The Leica Freedom Train
One of the book’s central episodes concerns Leica, the German camera company. During the 1930s, Leica owner Ernst Leitz II helped approximately 300 Jewish people leave Nazi Germany by assigning them to offices in France, Great Britain, Hong Kong and the United States under the appearance of Leica employment.
The rescue effort later became known as the Leica Freedom Train. Lurth uses the episode to show how camera-company history can overlap with world events and the lives of people affected by them, not only with technological innovation or industrial design.
Lurth’s connection to Decorah and visual storytelling
Lurth earned a bachelor’s degree in art from Luther College in 2008 and a Master of Fine Arts degree in photography and graphic design from the University of Iowa in 2012. He later returned to Luther as a professor of art and visual communication.
His photography has appeared in projects associated with National Geographic, ABC, NBC, MTV.com, Time, the Des Moines Register, General Electric, CNET.com, the Red Cross and The Iowa Review. His films have screened at more than 100 festivals worldwide and received several awards, including the Iowa Motion Picture Association’s Best Documentary film.
In 2022, two of Lurth’s photographs entered the permanent collection of the Figge Art Museum in Davenport. His new book extends that visual work into a history of the cameras, companies and people that helped shape visual culture.