British cameras feature in the Dr Dinesh Parekh collection

[Michael Wong]

If you'd missed out on the recent Lothrop auction, fear not as there is another sale of landmark cameras, including British ones. Carried out by the largest Australian auction house, Leonard Joel, the Dr Dinesh Parekh Camera Collection will be on offer on Sunday 18th July 2010.

A retired psychiatrist, Dr Dinesh Parekh, spent more than 30 yearsaccumulating an equally impressive collection of antique cameras. Catalogued by camera historian, Michael Pritchard, there are 350 lots with many groupings, which places the total number of items at about 1000, and an expected sale of Aus $200,000 in total.

Dr Parekh's aim fromthe start was to assemble a collection that spans the history of photography through the machinery that makes it possible. Hence, this logical approach includes such exotica as a 19-century head clamp and a portable dark tent (by the London firm of Murray and Heath from the late 1850s) with collodion processing equipment used by the early pioneers of photography.

The collection also features stereoscopic cameras, magic lanterns, a working Mutoscope, optical toys,as well as the 'first instant camera' - The Dubroni from 1864, and Kodak's Super Six-20 of 1938, the first to feature automatic exposure control.

Under the hammer will also be a series of spy cameras, including some remarkable examples from the late 19th century (eg Photo-Binocle dating from the 1890s), as well as a range of Leicas from 1920 to 1970. Most are priced from $200 to $500,with notable exceptions, such as the Leica 250 GG Reporter camera (estimate $5500) and the M3 Bundeseigentum ($4000).

The full auction catalogue can be found here.


Photos: Collodion dark tent processing apparatus, Murray & Heath, London, 1850s;
Dubroni outfit, Paris - launched in 1864 and is considered the first'instant' camera, although strictly speaking the camera offered processing inside the camera immediately after the plate was exposed.