1000 Cameras from USSR by Viktor Suglob

Wow! HA! Zoom I almost choked on my beer here.. seriously?!

Zoom,

I think that just because these cameras that you are referring to as stolen are shown in this book, does not mean that you know where they are now located. It is my understanding that Viktor Suglub does not own all, or even most of the cameras shown, and that he has collected photos of these cameras from many collectors all over the world. I know I sent him some photos of cameras that he may or may not have used. I also have heard that some of the photos were even sent to him without him knowing where the actual cameras are or even the identity of the person who sent the photos... from anonymous sources!




Regards, Bill

Exactly, even though Victor does have an amazing collection, he does not possess all of those in the book. His speciality is in the Belomo production.
Also I might ask are the items in Louvre also stolen, eg the Egyptians didn't certainly give any permision to export all the mummies and casks we found there...

Best regards,
Juhani

quote:

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Originally posted by nightphoto

...It is my understanding that Viktor Suglub does not own all, or even most of the cameras shown...

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Of course. I did not mean Victor. But on this pages below the text there is written, who is owned the camera.
ZENIT-9: A. Kamynin...
You may see this ZENIT-9 No. 6900001 (shots made in 2004 before it has been stolen) there: http://www.zenitcamera.com/archive/zenit-7/index.html#zenit-9

Well, it is unfortunate that so many cameras were stolen from all of the large factory collections, including KMZ, LOMO, Arsenal, FED, and GOI, as well as from the KGB and other agencies such as the police and military. I know that my own collection and the inventories of other collectors now are the home for many of these cameras that were taken. Of course they were mostly taken by people on the inside, who were working for the factory, or had been recently laid off from the factory, and the motive to take these things was money, offered mostly by dealers of cameras who were selling them to collectors, both inside the former soviet countries and to Europe, America, Japan and other places.

It is a complex issue, and, as Juhani has brought up when speaking about Egyptian antiquities and the Louvre. Of course these and many other things, including many rare Soviet cameras, were stolen. No doubt about it. But what to do? Many times, in the case of the cameras which had been taken from the factories, the items passed through many hands before going to the eventual owner (and will probably change many hands again in the future). Also, in this case, some of the factories did not take good care of their collections, both in the matter of securing, curating, and maintenence of the cameras, lenses, etc. Possibly KMZ was somewhat of an exception to this and of course Zoom has done an excellent job of curating or documenting what is in the collection, as far as I can tell. No doubt much is due to the changeover of these places from Soviet State owned to private ownership, during the 1990s and up until even now. Lots of confusion, access to the collections, motives of money and the new interest in collecting these suddenly available cameras and lenses. I think it goes on to this day, but maybe a little less than was happening a few years ago.

The present owner of the camera is not always (usually) the guilty party, just the same as how it is very easy to buy an antiquity on Ebay or Molotok and become the owner. Of course if an item has been stolen from a collection recently, then it may not always the safest place for it, since there are thefts still happening and the collection is not secure. Since I myself an an art and antiques dealer for a living, and an honest one, I have thought about this subject many times and read quite a bit about the situation as it concerns art and antiques, so I could go on and on with different view points and situations that have come to pass ... but for now I will end with the thought that it will be in everyones best interest if the objects themselves, in this case cameras, lenses, accessories, and documents about them, are at least preserved safely!

Regards, Bill

Oh, there is one Zorki-12 for sale here now, I think I should buy it...

Best regards,
Juhani