A Luther College professor is bringing the history of film photography to readers through a new book covering the cameras, companies and people that helped shape the medium. Aaron Lurth, program director of visual communication and associate professor of art at Luther College in Decorah, published Small Luxuries: Film Cameras on Aug. 4, according to Luther College News.
The college highlighted the book on Aug. 12, 2026. Published by the Quarto Group, it is the second title in the Small Luxuries series, which examines everyday objects that have helped shape American culture.
What the Decorah professor’s book covers
The 128-page hardcover begins with the basic function of a camera and then moves through the development of camera technology, historic manufacturers, well-known models and major figures in the camera industry. The book is designed as a visually driven coffee-table volume, with illustrations and photographs playing a central role.
Rather than serving as a highly technical study, the book offers an accessible, general overview of photography’s history. About one-third of its images were sourced and photographed by Lurth, using cameras he owns or was able to access. One of the oldest cameras he photographed was a 1909 Kodak No. 3A Folding Brownie.
Other images came from older advertisements, photographs and newspaper clippings. The research also helped Lurth expand his knowledge of specific camera brands and models beyond his existing background in photography.
A camera company’s role in a human rescue effort
One of the more significant discoveries in Lurth’s research involved 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 effort later became known as the Leica Freedom Train. Lurth’s research uses that history to show how camera companies can be connected not only to technology and design, but also to major historical events and individual lives.
Lurth’s Luther College and photography background
Lurth earned a bachelor’s degree in art from Luther College in 2008. He received a master of fine arts degree in photography and graphic design from the University of Iowa in 2012 before returning to Luther as a professor of art and visual communication.
His photographic work 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 film projects 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 were added to the permanent collection of the Figge Art Museum in Davenport. Small Luxuries: Film Cameras is available through the Luther Book Shop and online.