Hey you! So I hear you want to make it to the big leagues as a hot shot studio photographer? I like the cut of your jib kid. You've got moxy, so I'll cut you a deal. All you need is $34.65 and a can-do attitude. A steep price, I know... but we're talking about the top of the line, state of the art Empire State Photographic Outfit. You'll be the next Stieglitz in no time.
This quality kit includes the finest view camera money can buy. Made of solid mahogany that was chopped down by the hands of our very forefathers, it also features a double rapid rectilinear lens, dual valve unicum shutter allowing exposures as fast as 10 seconds (!), sliding tripod, a double plate holder and canvas carrying case. But wait, there's more... You'll have everything you need to shoot and print, including a dozen dry plates (who needs that wet plate stuff anyway) and an entire darkroom for developing and printing. If you buy today I'll even throw in a copy of "Complete Instruction in Photography" to help cut your teeth. It's a tough world out there kid, read up.
All of this would normally cost around $52.00 but today, it'll set you back 34 clams. Now that's a deal if I ever did see one.
You too can live the luxurious lifestyle of a 1900's photographer!
If you couldn't guess, this isn't from last week's paper. The ad is from a Sears catalog back in the 1900's. Yes, long before Amazon Prime and big box stores within walking distance, you sent your money in the mail and waited an eternity for your product to end up on your doorstep.
The thing I find so surreal is the comparison between those old wooden cameras of the yesteryear and the digital ones we have today. A well-built view camera would last you a lifetime (granted life expectancy was probably a little shorter in general). The rate we go through modern electronics is kind of a joke...you're lucky if you can make it out a year before some company releases another gadget that makes you want to upgrade. Not only that, but the dollar value has inflated substantially: $34.65 would be around $941.18 these days. Just think all you could buy with $34 today. A pair of lens filters...a new camera strap? Oh the times they have-a chang-ed.