Fred Spira
Encyclopedia
Fred Spira was an inventor and innovator in photography as well as a collector of photographic equipment, images, books, and ephemera. He is credited as one of three individuals who opened up the U.S. market to quality Japanese photographic goods.
rescue mission and, as a result, spent ten months in Doncaster, England, where he attended the Percy Jackson Grammar School. He left England with his father in June 1940, sailing to North America on the SS Antonia, where the two were reunited with Spira's mother, who had arrived in New York on the SS Volendan in February of that year.
Fine Grain Laboratories, a photo-processing business, in their apartment. Spira worked for the family business as well as part-time for another photofinisher, while attending evening high school and graduating as the class valedictorian. His father died unexpectedly in 1945 and Spira, who was already attending college, left school to support his mother and himself.
, had become fairly well known and the Japanese brands were completely unknown, the products that came out of these partnerships were sold under the Spiratone brand and Spira established rigorous quality assurance procedures to ensure that the merchandise that bore his name worked as intended.
Spira merged Spiratone
with a public company, Interphoto, and the relationship with Interphoto allowed the company to expand its reach, in 1967.
According to Herbert Keppler
, tests of Spiratone lenses "often proved them equal to or superior to that of famous manufacturers' own products."
Spira was also at the "forefront" of the technological revolution in lens attachments having developed a variety of filters and lens accessories that added unusual and special effects to photographs, and was "the most important" supplier of such attachments.
Spira left the company in 1987. Interphoto had been taken over by Argus, a company indirectly controlled by Italian banker and convicted felon Michele Sindona
and the new parent company siphoned cash out of its holdings, including Spiratone, bringing them near financial ruin. Spiratone ceased operation in the early 1990s.
The Spira Collection eventually included over 20,000 items, including many items not found in any other collection. The George Eastman House
held an exhibit of unique pieces from The Spira Collection in 1981, the first time items from a private collection were ever placed on exhibit there.
executive director Michael Hoffman, began writing a book on the history of photography, using pieces from The Spira Collection as illustrations. As the book got underway, Spira started to show signs of Alzheimer's and his son, Jonathan Spira
, helped finish the book. Released in 2001, The History of Photography As Seen Through The Spira Collection was named "a best book of the year" by the New York Times. Todd Gustavson, Technology Curator at George Eastman House, called it “one of the most important photo-history books of the last quarter century."
on September 2, 2007, at his home in Beechhurst, New York, at the age of 83.
Early years
Siegfried Franz Spira was born in Vienna, Austria to Hans and Paula (née Back) Spira. His father was an official at the Bodencreditanstalt bank and later owned the Photohaus Spira-Ritz. Spira attended the Amerlinggymnasium until after the Anschluß, when he was forced to leave school because of his Jewish heritage. In March 1939, he left Vienna through a KindertransportKindertransport
Kindertransport is the name given to the rescue mission that took place nine months prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. The United Kingdom took in nearly 10,000 predominantly Jewish children from Nazi Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland and the Free City of Danzig...
rescue mission and, as a result, spent ten months in Doncaster, England, where he attended the Percy Jackson Grammar School. He left England with his father in June 1940, sailing to North America on the SS Antonia, where the two were reunited with Spira's mother, who had arrived in New York on the SS Volendan in February of that year.
Youth
In order to make ends meet, the family started SpiratoneSpiratone
Spiratone was a company specializing in low-cost lenses and filters for cameras, lighting, and darkroom equipment.The company was started by Fred Spira in 1941 in the bathroom of his parents' apartment where he developed film. In 1946, it relocated to a large loft on West 27th Street in Manhattan...
Fine Grain Laboratories, a photo-processing business, in their apartment. Spira worked for the family business as well as part-time for another photofinisher, while attending evening high school and graduating as the class valedictorian. His father died unexpectedly in 1945 and Spira, who was already attending college, left school to support his mother and himself.
Spiratone
In 1946, Spira opened a store on West 27th Street and started to sell a variety of photographic equipment, including cameras and accessories, by mail. In the late 1940s, he became one of the first importers to work with Japanese manufacturers in developing lenses, flash units, exposure meters, tripods, and other photographic accessories. Since his company name, SpiratoneSpiratone
Spiratone was a company specializing in low-cost lenses and filters for cameras, lighting, and darkroom equipment.The company was started by Fred Spira in 1941 in the bathroom of his parents' apartment where he developed film. In 1946, it relocated to a large loft on West 27th Street in Manhattan...
, had become fairly well known and the Japanese brands were completely unknown, the products that came out of these partnerships were sold under the Spiratone brand and Spira established rigorous quality assurance procedures to ensure that the merchandise that bore his name worked as intended.
Spira merged Spiratone
Spiratone
Spiratone was a company specializing in low-cost lenses and filters for cameras, lighting, and darkroom equipment.The company was started by Fred Spira in 1941 in the bathroom of his parents' apartment where he developed film. In 1946, it relocated to a large loft on West 27th Street in Manhattan...
with a public company, Interphoto, and the relationship with Interphoto allowed the company to expand its reach, in 1967.
According to Herbert Keppler
Herbert Keppler
Herbert „Burt“ Keppler was a photographer, author and journalist. His career spanned 57 years, including 37 at Modern Photography and two decades at Popular Photography...
, tests of Spiratone lenses "often proved them equal to or superior to that of famous manufacturers' own products."
Spira was also at the "forefront" of the technological revolution in lens attachments having developed a variety of filters and lens accessories that added unusual and special effects to photographs, and was "the most important" supplier of such attachments.
Spira left the company in 1987. Interphoto had been taken over by Argus, a company indirectly controlled by Italian banker and convicted felon Michele Sindona
Michele Sindona
Michele Sindona was an Italian banker and convicted felon. Known in banking circles as "The Shark", Sindona was a member of Propaganda Due , a secret lodge of Italian Freemasonry, and had clear connections to the Mafia...
and the new parent company siphoned cash out of its holdings, including Spiratone, bringing them near financial ruin. Spiratone ceased operation in the early 1990s.
The Spira Collection
Spira began collecting autographs relating to the history of photography in the 1960s. By the end of that decade, he had progressed to collecting historic cameras and was involved in organizing what became the American Photographic Historical Society.The Spira Collection eventually included over 20,000 items, including many items not found in any other collection. The George Eastman House
George Eastman House
The George Eastman House is the world's oldest museum dedicated to photography and one of the world's oldest film archives, opened to the public in 1949 in Rochester, New York, USA. World-renowned for its photograph and motion picture archives, the museum is also a leader in film preservation and...
held an exhibit of unique pieces from The Spira Collection in 1981, the first time items from a private collection were ever placed on exhibit there.
History of Photography book
In the late 1990s, Spira, with the encouragement of Aperture FoundationAperture Foundation
The Aperture Foundation was founded in 1952 by Ansel Adams, Minor White, Barbara Morgan, Dorothea Lange, Nancy Newhall, Beaumont Newhall, Ernest Louie, Melton Ferris, and Dody Warren. Their vision was to create a forum for fine art photography, a new concept at the time. The first issue of...
executive director Michael Hoffman, began writing a book on the history of photography, using pieces from The Spira Collection as illustrations. As the book got underway, Spira started to show signs of Alzheimer's and his son, Jonathan Spira
Jonathan Spira
Jonathan B. Spira is a researcher and industry analyst known for his work in the area of collaboration and knowledge sharing and the problem of information overload.-Early life:...
, helped finish the book. Released in 2001, The History of Photography As Seen Through The Spira Collection was named "a best book of the year" by the New York Times. Todd Gustavson, Technology Curator at George Eastman House, called it “one of the most important photo-history books of the last quarter century."
Death
Spira died from complications of Alzheimer's diseaseAlzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
on September 2, 2007, at his home in Beechhurst, New York, at the age of 83.