A new book by Luther College professor Aaron Lurth looks past camera specifications to examine how film photography became woven into American culture, world events and the people behind the photography industry.
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, the book is not presented as a highly technical equipment guide. It introduces basic camera mechanics while tracing the development of film-camera technology through major manufacturers, notable models and influential figures.
The coffee-table-style volume combines photographs, illustrations, vintage advertisements, newspaper clippings and other visual materials. Lurth sourced and photographed about one-third of the images with cameras he owns or was able to access. One of the oldest cameras he photographed was a 1909 Kodak No. 3A Folding Brownie.
That work took Lurth beyond the histories of individual brands and models. Small Luxuries also explores the people and historical events connected to the camera industry, giving the book potential appeal for readers interested in photography, graphic design and cultural history, as well as those curious about the stories behind familiar camera companies.
The Leica Freedom Train
A central episode in the book 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 camera-company history can intersect with world events and the lives of people affected by them—not only with technological innovation or industrial design.
Lurth’s Luther College and 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 work into a history of the cameras, companies and people that helped shape visual culture. Decorah readers can find Small Luxuries: Film Cameras through the Luther Book Shop or online.