Weber State College Comment, April 1987, page 9 shutter Bug Intrigued With Cameras, Not Photos Dr. Horvat owns a working model of an early movie camera (far left) as well as hundreds of other cameras. One storage room (left) was built especially to house his cameras, and holds a majority of his collection. Dr. Horvat is recognized as a world authority on the Argus line because of his extensive collection of that brand. oe Horvat doesn’t take many photos, less than ‘a roll per year, but he has enough cameras that if he wanted to he could take a picture every day for over two years before having to use the same camera twice. All of Dr. Horvat’s cameras are antiques, but every one them, from the camera that doubles as a cigarette lighter to the large Daguerreotype, works. There are stereo cameras, panorama cameras, studio, box and folding cameras. There are field cameras, spy cameras, a one-and-only camera, cameras used by the Luftwaffe during World War II, an early movie camera, Russian cameras, British cameras, Japanese cameras, Australian cameras, and hundreds of others. Almost every make and kind except for modern single lens reflex cameras. _ | hours explaining the development and modifications of the Argus line. “I have a more extensive collection than Argus has,” he said. “When I completed the trial the president of the company gave me a prototype of a camera they never produced,” he That camera, and one that was owned by Zachary Taylor, 12th dent of the U.S., are among Dr. vat's favorites. said. once presiHor- He buys most of his cameras at antique shows and travels across the country looking for cameras. His name has spread across the world and people from many states and countries call him trying to sell cameras. “T get about three calls a day from all over. I’ve sold in Canada, Australia and in Europe. The Japanese are funny, though. They have just recently got in- manship in their intricately worked brass and teak wood exteriors, (“Even the slots of the screws line up,” he said.) and each is capable of taking photos, if the right kind of film can be found. “One camera looks like, and is a functioning cigarette lighter, but inside is also a functioning camera. It was used in spy work by both the Americans and the British,” he said. One German camera was used by the aerial Luftwaffe for reconnaissance photos. “It can take 40 pictures with one wind, and is built like a tank,” Dr. Horvat said. His earliest camera, a Daguerreotype, is from 1839, just a year after photography began. That camera, as are many in Dr. Horvat’s collection, is on loan to a museum. But despite collection is evident in bookshelves, cases. A the fact that not all of his in his house, cameras are almost every room--on mantels and in display cement-encased storage/disp- lay room holds the bulk of his collection. The ‘cement acts as a fire retardant, “for insurance reasons,” he said. The collection was valued three years ago at $24,000 and Dr. Horvat has an extensive burglar alarm system “and big dogs and mean football players” to guard his treasure. “Collecting cameras takes me off into my own little world and it’s a nice release. I tried collecting coins and stamps, they’re much easier to store, but they just didn’t do it for me. There’s a mechanical and craftsmanship beauty of cameras that just struck my fancy,” he said. to the antique market and when they buy they send hundred dollar bills in the mail. They must be trusting people.” Only once did someone try to sell Dr. Horvat a stolen camera. “I've been dealing in this for a long time, and, as a psychologist, you come to know how people react and I knew the camera was stolen,” he said. On a tip from Dr. Horvat the police nabbed the man. Dr. Horvat doesn’t sell many cameras, only when he picks up a duplicate that is in better condition than the one in his collection. Most of the time he’s the buyer, and recently he’s been finding more and more. “I try to get quality things that I see and just can’t live without,” he added. The cameras show a pride of craft- ETT sai ‘T have this Minolta that I use, but I don’t take that many pictures. I’m not that much of a photographer,” Dr. Horvat said. Dr. Horvat, an associate professor of psychology at Weber State, first started collecting cameras while attending college. A professor showed hima camera he had bought at an antique show, and Dr. Horvat was impressed with how it looked and worked. ‘It’s the mechanical aspect of the thing, and its design. They're just a beautiful item,” he said. His dad provided him with his first collected camera, a $5 special, and from there Dr. Horvat has expanded his collection to include between 700 and 800 cameras, none of which are duplicates. He has collected so many of the Argus line that he is considered the world authority, and testified as an expert witness in a 1971 suit that Argus brought against Kodak. Dr. Horvat was on the witness stand for three i J Dr. Horvat’s Russian FT-2 panoramic 1962 camera was recently used by the college to capture an almost 180 degree photo of 'the campus (above) on 35 mm film. The lens of the camera sweeps from left to right when the shutter is released. (Top Right) The psychology professor considers some of the 700 plus cameras in his collection.