A new book by Luther College professor Aaron Lurth invites readers to see film cameras as more than outdated technology. Small Luxuries: Film Cameras examines the history, design and cultural influence of cameras while highlighting the people and events connected to the photography industry.
Lurth, a visual communication professor and director of Luther’s visual communication program, published the 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 rather than a buying guide
The book is written for a broad audience. It explains basic camera mechanics, but its main focus is the historical and cultural importance of cameras—not detailed equipment specifications or advice for choosing what to buy.
Lurth follows the development of film-camera technology through major manufacturers, notable models and influential figures. The coffee-table-style book brings together photographs, illustrations, vintage advertisements, newspaper clippings and other visual materials to tell that story.
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 combination of research and firsthand photography gives readers interested in photography, graphic design and cultural history a look at how familiar camera companies developed and why their products mattered. Across its 128 pages, the book connects camera technology with American culture, major events and the people behind the photography business.
When a camera company’s history became a rescue story
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 the history of a camera company can intersect with world events and the lives of people affected by them—not only with technological innovation or industrial design.
Lurth’s 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.