Continuing with little discoveries, I came across Aditya Arya’s Vintage Camera Museum in Gurgaon. Now it may be a discovery for a lot of us, but the tribe of photography enthusiasts — photography students and practitioners — are aware of the existence of the museum Aditya kicked off in 2011 in the basement of his house in DLF Gurgaon. “The idea is to tell people about the history of photography. How did the camera evolve? It amazes me to see how photography has evolved from a craft to an art form. And how all these great photographers mastered the technology part of it,” says Aditya.
The museum displays about 700 cameras and everything related to the world of photography. A visitor is likely to let out a squeal of joy seeing four camera obscuras (they are replicas from the U.S.) — daguerreotypes, stereo cameras, modern stereocard viewers, shutter cameras, old films, slides, flashes, camera boxes and ads released by camera companies. The display isn’t chronological but according to the camera manufacturing companies, like Rolleicord, Carl Zeiss, Yashica, Kodak, Graflex, etc. At the entrance is placed the Kodak Century Graphic Camera, a unique wooden camera with a heavy platform on wheels. Like so many of his acquisitions, this one too came from a kabadiwallah. “I have built a network of kabadiwallahs in different cities. Whichever city I am shooting in, I make it a point to visit the kabadi bazaar and share contact details with them. Now some of these kabadiwallahs whatsapp me the pictures of such finds and I rush to see it,” he quips, adding quite a few have come from friends and acquaintances.
Although it’s really difficult to pick out unique ones here because camera after camera is one of its own kind, do look at modern stereocard viewers. Through these you can see images printed on stereocards, and when viewed through two, the illusion of a three-dimensional picture is created. “It was a mode of entertainment. People used it in parties to entertain themselves and I have a rich collection of stereocards too and all pertaining to India,” says Aditya.
Another piece I would urge you not to miss out on is a limited edition Leica bearing Nazi insignia and released by Hitler during World War II. There is a section on Brownies and Graflex — the first large format single lens reflex camera of the world. You can sample some locally produced cameras too which Aditya says used to be manufactured in Bangalore. Welling Camera Works of Bangalore produced a model called Vijay.
An aerial camera, K20 made especially for the bombers of the U.S. Army during World War I, is another exemplary piece.
“So as they dropped bombs from the aircraft they would shoot from this camera. The objective was to document the war. And very funnily in a typical Army way it’s written on the camera ‘To be serviced after every 10,000 shots’.” Aditya is making some of these old cameras work and recently produced wet plates using an 1880 camera.
Aditya has such pieces lying in different parts of India which he can’t bring due to various logistical reasons. “Some of them are too huge and heavy to be brought here so I have to figure out a way. Then I don’t have enough space to display. The idea is to find a big place and make a good museum. It’s not very easy to have a museum in your house. That’s why I prefer people to come by appointment so that I can take them around and tell them about the history. Each and every camera is documented and the history of all of them along with the companies that made them is available here, and I would want to share that with people.”
(Vintage Camera Museum is on T-23/5 DLF Phase – III, Gurgaon. The museum is open from Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. by appointment only. Call – 9810009099)
