Aaron Lurth, a Luther College professor and visual communication program director, has published a new book that explores film cameras as more than tools for taking pictures. Small Luxuries: Film Cameras connects camera mechanics and design with American culture, major historical events and the people who shaped the photography industry.
Lurth published the 128-page hardcover on Aug. 4 through the Quarto Group, according to Luther College News. The book is designed for a broad audience rather than readers seeking a highly technical examination of camera equipment. It is available through the Luther Book Shop and online.
From camera mechanics to cultural history
The book opens with an explanation of how a camera works before following the development of film-camera technology through historic manufacturers, notable models and influential figures. Its coffee-table-style format 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.
Research for the project eventually took Lurth beyond individual brands and models. He also examined the people and events connected to the camera industry, giving the book relevance for readers interested in photography, graphic design and cultural history—as well as anyone curious about the stories behind familiar camera companies.
The Leica story behind the technology
One of the book’s central historical 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 show how camera-company history can intersect with world events and the lives of people affected by them, not just technological innovation and industrial design.
Lurth’s connection to Luther College
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 work into a wide-ranging history of the cameras, companies and people that helped shape visual culture.