A new book from Luther College professor Aaron Lurth looks beyond film cameras as photographic tools, exploring how the technology became intertwined with American culture, historical events and the lives of people shaped by the camera industry.
Small Luxuries: Film Cameras, a 128-page illustrated history, was published Aug. 4 by the Quarto Group, according to Luther College News. Luther College highlighted the book Aug. 12, 2026.
A visual history of cameras
Lurth is Luther’s program director of visual communication and an associate professor of art. His work includes photography, graphic design and film, and the book draws on those fields while presenting the subject as a broad, accessible history rather than a highly technical study.
The hardcover opens with an explanation of how a camera works, then follows the development of camera technology through historic manufacturers, notable models and major figures in the industry. Photographs and illustrations are central to the coffee-table-style volume, which also includes vintage advertisements, photographs and newspaper clippings.
About one-third of the 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.
Research for the book expanded Lurth’s knowledge of individual camera brands and models. It also led him to broaden the project beyond equipment history, incorporating the people and events associated with the camera industry. That combination may interest readers in photography, design and cultural history.
The Leica story behind the technology
One of the book’s major discoveries 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 effort later became known as the Leica Freedom Train. Lurth uses the episode to show how camera companies can be linked not only to design and technological innovation, but also to major historical events and the lives of people affected by them.
Lurth’s Luther College connection
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 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 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 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.