The camera collector
World-class camera collector Dilish Parekh talks to Steve Fairclough about his record-breaking collection
Dilish Parekh is a photographic record breaker. Since 2007, his collection of cameras, dating from 1890 to 1960, has been listed in the Guinness World Records and now includes more than 5,000 cameras.
‘My grandfather used to collect cameras and he gifted me a few models, so my interest started from that time,’ Parekh explains. ‘ The collection started in 1977 when 600 cameras were gifted to me by my grandfather after he passed away.’
When he inherited the collection, Parekh already had an interest in photography. ‘I’m a freelance journalist accredited with the government of Maharashtra, a state in India of which Mumbai is the capital,’ he says. ‘A lot of my pictures have featured in newspapers in the state and in Mumbai. I’m a jeweller by profession and this [collecting] is my hobby and passion.
‘After 1977 my passion for photography increased. I used to buy old jewellery for trading, but along with old jewellery if anyone had old cameras I used to buy those too. That’s how I started – buying jewellery, watches, old silverware. I traded the remainder but kept the cameras for myself.’
Valuation and history
Now, in the internet age, you can discover the history of a camera and its value in seconds, but when Parekh (pictured right) began collecting, such information was scarce. ‘In the 1970s, ’80s and early ’90s you didn’t know what the international markets were or the prices,’ he explains. ‘I didn’t know values or how much the collection was worth. There was no way to find out, but today I can just Google any camera and I know the price. That all really started after 2000.’ Parekh’s collection expanded due to a number of factors, including cameras being ‘gifted’ to him by people who would otherwise have thrown them away. ‘Instead of giving a camera to the junkyard, people would give it to me,’ says Parekh. ‘It was of no value to them and was taking up space in their house, so they thought they might as well give it to me.
‘In Mumbai there is something called the Chor Bazaar – chor in English means “thieves’ market”. It was named this by the British when they ruled India. Chor actually means “noise market” and there are shops there where you get vintage furniture. When I used to advertise I used to look for old jewellery and buy old cameras.’
Time spent collecting
In the early days Parekh devoted a lot of time to building his collection, which ranges from a daguerreotype to a button spy camera and a rare Leica 250, which is valued at around $80,000. ‘Initially, it took up a lot of my time,’ says Parekh. ‘I am now over 60, so I don’t devote that much time to it, but in my 30s and 40s I did. In the mornings I used to go to flea markets to look for cameras and I used to advertise. When people called up I used to go on home visits and have a look at the stuff and buy it, but I don’t do this any more.’ Parekh currently shoots with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II and an EOS 7D, but has used many of the vintage cameras in his collection. ‘I’ve used Hasselblads, Rolleiflexes, Canons and Leicas,’ he says. ‘I have an old button camera, a 1950s model, and there’s a marking on the film “Made in Occupied Japan”, so it’s quite rare.’ When asked if he has made any mistakes while collecting, Parekh sighs and says: ‘ The Leica 250 is the rarest model in my collection today. I did, in fact, have a Nikon I that I sold 20 years ago, which I regret. I recently read that one had been auctioned for an insane amount, an absolutely crazy figure – over $400,000.’
‘Instead of giving a camera to the junkyard, people would give it to me’
Parekh admits he didn’t know the value of the Leica 250 when he acquired it. ‘I had no idea,’ he says. ‘My children found out it was worth money by checking online. I know the prices of each and every one of my cameras now – you just type the camera name in online and you know the complete story.’ Parekh admits that Leica is his favourite brand. ‘I find them very classy, very neat looking,’ he says. ‘ They are like the Rolls-Royce of cameras.’
The attraction of vintage
Parekh has stuck steadfastly to his plan of not collecting any camera made after 1960. ‘I didn’t want to collect modern-day cameras,’ he explains. ‘I liked old cameras – the plate cameras, the daguerreotypes. At that time photography was an art and not everybody could do it. Today, with mobile phones, anyone can do it – you can click, use Photoshop and apps and completely change the look of a picture. But back then it was an art. If you were a good photographer you could gain a lot of importance. I loved it. When you developed photographs you were so excited to see the results.’
Despite being able to track camera values online, Parekh still only buys in India. ‘It’s all bought from India, but I have friends or their relatives abroad who, after reading about the collection, have sent cameras to India,’ he says. He has received ‘gifts’ from as far afield as the USA.
‘If I come across something that interests me, and it is in my price range, I will buy it,’ Parekh adds. ‘ There is no rule. If someone has old cameras and they approach me I will look. There is no upper limit. I can go a month without buying anything or in a week I can buy a month’s worth!’
Verifying the world record
Parekh’s collection originally featured in the Limca Book of Records (India’s national equivalent of the Guinness World Records book), but his children wanted him to get into the Guinness World Records book. ‘ They contacted Guinness – they wrote e-mails and sent details of the complete collection… all the cameras with pictures,’ says Parekh. ‘We compiled it all, submitted the details they wanted and then Guinness verified it.
‘Initially my record was for 2,500 cameras, which I broke, and now my current record for Guinness is for 4,425 cameras. I’ve now exceeded 5,000 cameras. It’s all documented – all of them have numbers; the lens number, the serial number and every camera has my own individual numbers assigned to it.’
Storing the cameras
Parekh’s collection is stored at various locations in India. ‘I live in Mumbai, which is a crowded city, and I don’t have enough space at home to keep everything,’ he says. ‘I’ll have to stay out of the house if I buy much more! It’s packed with cameras in two full-length bookcases in my house, my loft, my office loft and our family garage. I have another property and I have cameras there, so it’s about a shipping-container’s worth.’
As for his advice for someone who might want to emulate his collecting feats, Parekh says: ‘Follow your passion. Start collecting, but you will not always get what you are looking for. Don’t give up hope, though, as once people know about you and read about you, you will get what you are looking for.’
When asked if there’s one camera he doesn’t own yet that he’d like to have in the collection Parekh replies: ‘I just want a Nikon I again at a reasonable price… but I don’t imagine that the people who have it would want to sell it!’