Celebrity backing for St Monans camera collection.

Crowdfunding campaign to make dream of East Neuk museum come true

Photography enthusiasts are raising funds to put an extraordinary collection of more than 3,000 cameras on public display in the East Neuk village of St Monans.

The Jim Matthew Camera Trust was formed in March by a number of villagers and enthusiasts from elsewhere in the UK to continue the legacy of the late Mr Matthews and realise his ambition to create a museum to showcase his camera collection.

With the backing of Jim’s family, the trust has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise £30,000, which would enable it to take ownership of the cameras, many more than a century old, and the building they are housed in.

Jim died in 2017 without seeing his collection, which includes cameras from around the globe, put on public display.

His family want to see the collection kept together and have offered it to the charitable trust, which will be officially launched today, to coincide with World Photography Day.

World famous Fife crime author Val McDermid paid a visit to the collection and was shown some examples from the vast range of models, including the Kodak No 3 folding camera, produced in 1909. She said: “To have a collection as distinguished and extraordinary as this in a village as picturesque as St Monans seems appropriate.

“I was swept back in time to my first Instamatic, and later, my trusty Olympus Trip. Anyone who’s ever handled a camera will find memories galore in here. And for the generation who barely know what a camera is, there is plenty to astonish them.”

Trust member Gordon Bell said: “For Jim Matthew, putting this collection together was a labour of love, and it would be tragic to see it broken up.”

The collection features almost every Kodak Brownie model ever produced, the first inexpensive camera to make photography accessible to everyone.

Gordon said the treasure trove had very few rivals either in the UK or internationally, adding: “We will also need funds to make improvements to the building and for ongoing maintenance of the collection, so we are hoping people will be generous with donations to help us get up and running.”

“Putting this collection together was a labour of love and it would be tragic to see it broken up. TRUST MEMBER GORDON BELL

Crime author Val McDermid during a visit to the Jim Matthew camera collection.