The Learmonth Collection of Fine Cameras

Coming in April, this magnificent collection of vintage and antique cameras features rare and collectable models from Kodak, Linhof, Polaroid, Thornton-Pickard, Voigtlander and Zeiss. The collection was acquired over decades by Alfred Learmonth, an Australian architect who worked on some of Sydney’s iconic ’60s Modernist houses, including Buhrich House in Castlecrag. The auction is presented by Alfred’s children – Eleanor, Anthony and Bruce Learmonth.

Alfred Learmonth (left) whose collection of fine vintage and antique cameras is coming to auction at Theodore Bruce Auctioneers A Passionate Antique Camera Collector

Hailing from the Orkney Islands, Alfred immigrated to Australia as a child, before studying architecture in Sydney. He was interested in art and landscape photography from a young age and bought his first camera as a teenager. While studying at Sydney University, he set about improving his photographic skills, which led him into the history of the camera.

After he married and settled into his career as an architect, Alfred travelled widely both in Australia and to more remote destinations including Kashmir, Easter Island and South America, doggedly lugging around his heavy camera bag. His passion for collecting antique cameras took off in the 1970s and soon developed into a life-long obsession.

The secret to collecting, according to Alfred, was threefold:

* There’s no such thing as over-researching
* Buy quality
* The best treasures can sometimes be found in the most unexpected places

So he had a wall of research books, and loved nothing better than quietly browsing the auction houses, sales and dusty county antique shops. Alfred acquired cameras for the rest of his life, leaving a collection of over 100 cameras, dating from the late 1800s.

Eleanor Learmonth

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My father, Alf Learmonth, was an Architect and antique camera collector. He had an enormous curiosity regarding the things he collected, and wanted to know what ‘made them tick’. He designed the classic mid-century house I grew up in in Killara (in a street renowned for mid-century houses), and collected antique cameras, hand tools, and tribal art from New Guinea.

Alf loved his antique cameras, and was always able to demonstrate the mechanics of how they worked – which you may know can sometimes be quite complex!

For over two decades his camera collection has been ‘quietly maturing’. But as Alf also LOVED auctions, he’d be delighted that Theodore Bruce are auctioning his collection, ensuring each precious camera goes to a new home, with an aficionado who will appreciate it.

Anthony Learmonth

Auction Highlights

This diverse collection spans antique models from the late 1800s through to late 20th century designs, including Alfred’s prized Voigtlander models.

Among the collection are rare 19th century Falling Plate and Field Cameras from Marion & Co., A C.P Goerz and Thornton-Pickard, a leading British company established in 1888 by John Edward Thornton and Edgar Pickard. The Thornton Pickard Field Camera pictured is an Australian & N.Z T.O.N TM with a Beck Symmetrical Lens c.1900.

Also on offer is a Jules Richards Verascope Stereo Camera, c.1908. Jules Richards was a French maker who first worked with barometers, patenting the first reliable model to permanently record air pressure in 1880. He invented a compact glass format for cameras (45 x 107 mm) in 1893 that replaced the large glass slides of the day, and introduced the Verascope, which soon became the best-selling stereo camera of its time.

The collection also features a Linhof, Germany Technika ‘ Ensig Sanderson’ 1/4 Folding Plate, c.1936. Established in 1887, Linhof initially produced shutters, before releasing its first cameras in 1906. Nikolaus Karpf, the grand son-in-law of company founder, Valentin Linhof, designed the Technika, the first all-metal folding field camera in 1934, with revised models still in production today.

Another revolutionary model was the Kine Exacta. Introduced in 1936 by Karl Nüchterlein for the Ihagee company, it was the first 35mm SLR to gain widespread production and it is a format that has endured in popularity. This collection includes a Kine Exacta Ihagee SLR Camera, c.1950, with an anastigmat lens and telescopic lens, a complete case with light meter and flash attachment.

Pictured: An Antique Thornton Pickard, Australian & N.Z T.O.N TM, Beck Symmetrical Lens Field Camera, c.1900

A Linhof, Germany Technika ' Ensig Sanderson' 1/4 Folding Plate, c.1936

The Learmonth Collection of Fine Cameras
Tuesday 29 April | 6pm

Catalogue Online Soon

Please scroll down for a preview gallery.

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Pictured: A Linhof, Germany Technika ‘ Ensig Sanderson’ 1/4 Folding Plate, c.1936