A new book from Luther College professor Aaron Lurth asks readers to look at film cameras not as outdated technology, but as cultural artifacts connected to history, design and the people who shaped the photography industry.
Lurth, a visual communication professor and director of Luther’s visual communication program, published Small Luxuries: Film Cameras, a 128-page hardcover, on 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, not a camera-buying guide
The book is intended for a broad audience. It explains basic camera mechanics, but focuses primarily on the historical and cultural importance of cameras rather than detailed equipment specifications or purchasing advice.
Lurth traces the development of film-camera technology through major manufacturers, notable models and influential figures. The coffee-table-style book combines photographs, illustrations, vintage advertisements, newspaper clippings and other visual materials.
About one-third of the images were sourced and photographed by Lurth with cameras he owns or was able to access. One of the oldest cameras he photographed was a 1909 Kodak No. 3A Folding Brownie.
That combination of research and firsthand photography gives readers interested in photography, graphic design and cultural history a view of how familiar camera companies developed and why their products mattered. The book’s 128 pages connect camera technology with American culture, major events and the people behind the photography business.
The Leica Freedom Train
One of the book’s central episodes involves 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 demonstrate how the history of a camera company can intersect with world events and the lives of people affected by them—not just with technological innovation or industrial design.
Lurth’s Luther and visual-storytelling background
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-storytelling work into a history of the cameras, companies and people that helped shape how the world records and understands images.