Mr. Akeley’s Movie Camera - Text 2
Soon after starting at the Field in 1990, in the Photography Archives, I became fascinated with Carl Akeley and his legacy, and eventually published some articles on his work, including the camera. While researching one of those articles, I encountered a vintage movie camera collector named Sam Dodge, who kindly shared photos of one of his Akeleys to use as an illustration. A few years later he alerted me to an Akeley camera that was coming up for sale (possibly from his own collection, but I can’t recall). Of course, I thought it would be wonderful to add an Akeley camera to the museum’s collection (according to his second wife, Mary Jobe Akeley, Akeley began toying with movie camera designs in 1906 while still at the Field, so there was a connection). But budgets were tight, and there was no interest.
Flash forward to 2017: Sam was downsizing his collection, and sent a message to a few interested parties about some cameras, including an Akeley, that he was putting up for auction. I send an e-mail to the then-president of the Field, Richard Lariviere, and the director of exhibitions, Jaap Hoogstraten, with the subject line, “Who wants to buy an Akeley camera?” Dr. Lariviere responded with “Tell me more.” Jaap replied, “Ooh, I’ve always wanted an Akeley camera.” How times had changed!
So, I worked up a document sketching the invention’s history, its connection to Akeley’s other artistic mediums, and its wide use by naturalists, documentarists, newsreel cameramen, and Hollywood studios. The idea clicked, and Dr. Lariviere enlisted our Institutional Advancement Department (IA) to secure financial commitments from a few donors. On June 28, 2017, Tim Bratley of IA handled the bidding on behalf of the museum, and emerged the winning bidder. We paid just over $30,000 for the camera, which in my opinion was a bargain.
