Photographica

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Photographica are collectibles on the subject of photography in the broadest sense , mostly older things that are no longer in use. However, this use is not the only one, in IG Farbenindustrie AG as "Division III: Photographica, fragrances, artificial silk", "Photographica" included various photochemical products and photographic apparatus that were manufactured and sold as commercial goods and commodities, so basically none Collectible represented.

The word is a collective term for usually several objects and the shortened plural form of the Latinized neuter property word from the combination "Objecta photographica": photographic objects / objects. The singular form for a single photographic collection object would be called "Photographicum"; however, it is uncommon.

Photographica, photographic collectibles or, more precisely: collectibles on the subject of photography, can include the following items, among other possible items:

  • Photographs of cameras , lenses , manufacturers, fairs on the history of photography:
  • Books, magazines and other older printed matter about photography that are not up to date; old books about well-known early photographers, cameras, photo technology, exhibitions of photography, also catalogs, operating instructions, etc. v. a.,
  • Cameras,
  • Lenses,
  • Projectors,
  • Cutaway models, functional models, exhibition samples without function, etc.,
  • Accessories (such as old film cans, exposure machines).

The term "Photographica" is usually used when it comes to objects worth collecting, but mostly not when the objects are still used for their original purpose. Sometimes, however, this cannot be clearly distinguished: An age-old camera that is constantly used remains a camera that can also be counted among the Photographica. The photographer using the camera will claim that it is his camera, but others will say that he is using a collector's item belonging to the Photographica: different perspectives on the same object.

On the other hand, not every picture is just a photographicum just because it is kept in a shoebox (that is, "out of function" to be shown). Also, an old city view in an old Merian booklet does not belong to the "Photographica": the word implies that the object primarily has the old photograph itself as its subject and does not primarily want to say anything else.

Photographic objects can also be counted as "Photographica" without being exhibited or shown, e.g. B. an old, stored camera and accessories.

An old photograph of a car is primarily about the old car: this photograph can belong to the "Automobilia", but rather not to the "Photographica". A cassette compact camera from the 1960s or 1970s, on the other hand, which was found in the glove compartment of an old car and should previously have taken pictures of a possible accident, can be viewed as belonging to both the "Automobilia" and the "Photographica". Because today accident photos are taken with APS or digital cameras ; Cassette cameras have fallen out of use more and more since the 1970s. Such a camera is thus a witness of ancient times, both for driving a car and for earlier photography.

Many Photographica become such through the simple passage of long times. Example: A used, functional camera and its lenses were put in the closet when buying a new camera and left there. Twenty or more years later, they have imperceptibly become "Photographica": representational witnesses to a bygone era in photography.

Very popular Photographica are often functional cameras from old, famous manufacturers with the largest possible collection of contemporary accessories, e.g. B. an old Leica rangefinder camera with several interchangeable lenses, light meter, flash unit, filters and the like. Ä. Such Photographica can reach high four-digit values. Another example of Photographica are old classic photo books that have become style-defining, e.g. B. the work of Albert Renger-Patzsch.

A term corresponding to the word "Photographica" is " Automobilia "; Collectibles for motorized mobility from ancient times.

literature

  • Uwe Scheid: Collecting Photographica . Keysersche Verlagshandlung, Munich 1971, ISBN 3-87405-102-1 .
  • Rudolf Hillebrand, Günther Kadlubek: Photographica. The fascination of classic cameras Battenberg / Weltbild, 2001, ISBN 3-89441-361-1 .
  • Klaus-Dieter Müller: Price Guide for Photographica 2003. Photographica-Verlag, Berlin.
  • Bryan & Page Ginns: Antique Photographica. The Collectors Vision. Schiffer, ISBN 978-0-7643-4428-2 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Uwe Scheid: Collecting Photographica . Keysersche Verlagshandlung, Munich 1977, page 8