Fred Spira
Fred Spira (born August 7, 1924 in Vienna , Austria as Siegfried Franz Spira, later S. Franklin Spira , † September 2, 2007 in New York ) was a pioneer of photography . His company Spiratone , which was founded in New York during the war, produced less spectacular photo accessories such as additional filters, lenses or spacer rings . But Spira's approach was revolutionary: the spacer rings from Spiratone ensured compatibility between lenses and cameras from different manufacturers for the first time. In the 50s and 60s, the company founded in 1941 as a photo laboratory in the parents' bathroom grew into a multimillion dollar company. In 1987 Fred Spira, who last worked with 3D photography and had founded one of the world's most important collections of equipment from the early days of photography, retired.
biography
childhood
Siegfried Franz Spira was born as the son of Hans Spira, a department head of the Bodencreditanstalt and his wife Paula (née Back) in a well-off Viennese family. In 1938, because of his Jewish origins, he was forced to drop out of high school, and in 1939, when he was fourteen, he fled his home town of Vienna to London on one of the last children's transports . In June 1940 the Spira family celebrated their reunification in New York.
youth
Since there was hardly anything left of the family's former prosperity after the escape, the bathroom was converted into a darkroom, which was soon joined by another room as a studio. The Spiras customer base initially consisted mainly of Austrian emigrants. The former imperial Habsburg-Lothringen family was also photographed by the Spiras, "Siegfried Franz" had meanwhile become "S. Franklin Spira", who was called "Fred" all his life.
The beginnings of Spiratone
That Fred Spira had no intention of taking passport photos for the rest of his life became apparent soon after his arrival in New York. He was more interested in technology, i.e. lenses, filters, cameras and film development. In the late 1940s he began selling new and used cameras, wide-angle and telephoto lenses. In addition, Spiratone offered services such as refilling 35 mm film cartridges or film development. Orders and dispatch were made by post, and customers were contacted via advertisements in trade magazines.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Spira, Fred |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Spira, Siegried Franz |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American photographer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 7, 1924 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Vienna |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 2, 2007 |
| Place of death | New York City |