jpattison Posted August 14, 2009 Share #1 Posted August 14, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) Came across this page on Tom Halfhill's website. An Amazing Leica Collection Sorry if it's done the rounds, but I thought new users would be interested! John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted August 14, 2009 Posted August 14, 2009 Hi jpattison, Take a look here An amazing collection. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
storybrown Posted September 10, 2009 Share #2 Posted September 10, 2009 I hadn't seen this; it's interesting -- thanks for posting . . . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcoombs Posted September 10, 2009 Share #3 Posted September 10, 2009 Neither had I. Lots of impressive stuff there. Have to check it out next time I get to SF. Thanks for posting, Doug Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaaleS Posted September 12, 2009 Share #4 Posted September 12, 2009 Sounds like an interesting place to visit. Incidentally, if anyone happens find themselves in Prague sometime they should pop into the FotoSkoda camera shop, a stone's throw off Venceslas Square. Like the shop-owner your link refers to, mr Skoda is a collector and all kinds of weird and wonderful stuff from his collection is on display on the shelves there. The emphasis isn't particularly on Leica though. Lots of pre-war cameras on the other hand. Pre-the 1914-18 one in some cases. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob_x2004 Posted September 13, 2009 Share #5 Posted September 13, 2009 Theres a whole other world out there:D. Bit like stamps, or insects. Fair enough thats their thing. When I was first looking for an M and doing my homework, I got on the phone to a bloke in the second hand camera magazine. He just laughed and said I couldnt afford his cameras and to get onto ePrey and buy an M6 or something. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodger Posted September 18, 2009 Share #6 Posted September 18, 2009 I used to do lots of business with Preston's photographic opticians in Harrogate in the 1980s; it had a collection and display similar to that above - but larger and more diverse. The shop was established in the very late 19th Century at the same time as popular photography was really taking off. The original owner, John H Preston, had the foresight (and presumably the lack of need of profits) to keep one of every "significant" camera that came into the shop...and to collect those he didn't stock. As a result they had many dozens of cameras: folding and box Kodak and Zeiss; Leicas from the very beginning; Contaxes, Contarexes and so on; Nikon and Canon rangefinders and reflexes from the word go; they had movie cameras too....16 and 35mm Bell and Howells, Bolexes, some Arris, ...it seemed endless. And all in mint condition. But mostly Leicas. I used to drive down there from Middlesbrough sometimes just to get a bit of lunch and spend half an hour looking at the collection. In the end they opened up a special room at the back of the shop, with all the cameras in specially built cabinets. They were firmly attached to film, and in the end they shut in March 2001. Brian Preston blamed the arrival of popular consumer digital and the reluctance of most people to actually "invest" in a quality camera that would last them all their lives. Sic transit...and all that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpattison Posted September 18, 2009 Author Share #7 Posted September 18, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) I used to visit Prestons, they had fabulous curved glass windows! Do you know what happened to their collection? Happy Days John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gyoung Posted September 18, 2009 Share #8 Posted September 18, 2009 I used to visit Prestons, they had fabulous curved glass windows! Do you know what happened to their collection? Happy Days John I'm pretty sure it all went at an auction, I also used to drool over the showcases, not many places you can do that now, although there was a shop in Melbourne (Aus) which had a lot of stuff in an upstairs 'museum' when i was there 2 years ago. Gerry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodger Posted September 18, 2009 Share #9 Posted September 18, 2009 It all went to auction, sadly. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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