A Luther College professor’s new book takes readers beyond camera specifications to explore how film photography became intertwined with American culture, world events and the people who shaped the industry.
Aaron 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. The book is available through the Luther Book Shop and online.
A visual history of cameras and culture
Designed for a broad audience, Small Luxuries is not intended as a highly technical guide to camera equipment. Instead, it combines an introduction to camera mechanics with a history of film-camera technology, including major manufacturers, notable models and influential figures.
The coffee-table-style book includes photographs, illustrations, vintage advertisements, newspaper clippings and other visual materials. Lurth sourced and photographed about one-third of the images using cameras he owns or was able to access. Among the oldest cameras he photographed was a 1909 Kodak No. 3A Folding Brownie.
That research led Lurth beyond the details of individual brands and models. The book also examines the people and historical events connected to the camera industry, giving it appeal for readers interested in photography, graphic design and cultural history—or anyone curious about the stories behind familiar camera companies.
The Leica Freedom Train
One of the book’s central episodes focuses on 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 story to demonstrate how the history of camera companies can intersect with world events and the lives of people affected by them—not just with technological innovation or industrial design.
Lurth’s ties to Luther and visual storytelling
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 body of work into a history of the cameras, companies and people that helped shape visual culture.