The Doug Smith Collection
Doug Smith (1946 - 2025) (pictured) was born in Gorleston, Norfolk, and lived around the Lowestoft area for most of his life. His fascination with cameras began early and never faded. For over 60 years he built a collection that spanned generations of photography, from early cameras to later digital systems. To Doug, each camera was more than a piece of equipment — it was a link to the history of photography, to the images it captured, and to the techniques that froze a moment in time.
Doug didn’t just collect; he lived it. He developed his own film in the darkroom, honing a hands-on understanding of the craft. An active member of local camera clubs, he regularly entered competitions and loved sharing his work with fellow enthusiasts. If there was a detail about a camera, a lens, or a process he didn’t know, it probably wasn’t worth knowing.
His passion for the subject never left him and he rarely parted with a single item, finding real joy in questing, as well as in securing pieces. In the Photographic Collectors' Club of Great Britain members' handbook his specific interests are listed as "Lantern Slides - Mahogany and Brass cameras”. However, the collection he built is much broader than that and exemplifies the history of the camera through approximately 100 years of development, from brass-bound mahogany plate cameras of the late 19th Century to late 20th Century/ 21st Century cameras complete with desirable accessories. Countries of origin include England, Japan, Germany and the USSR, and in addition to cameras and magic lantern slides there are photographs, tripods, lenses, books etc.
This auction offers a rare and brief chance to see the collection he built over six decades, and to give these cameras a second life in the hands of people who appreciate them as he did.
For the catalogue click here
