Fred Spira

Fred Spira ( born August 7, 1924 in Vienna, Austria as Siegfried Franz Spira Spira later S. Franklin, † September 2, 2007 in New York) was a pioneer of photography. Its still based in New York during the war business Spiratone produced to little spectacular photo accessories such as additional filters, lenses, or spacers. Spira's approach but it was revolutionary: The intermediate rings of Spiratone attended for the first time for compatibility between lenses and cameras of different manufacturers. In the 50s and 60s, the company was founded in 1941 in his parents' bathroom as photo lab grew into a multimillion dollar company. 1987 retired Fred Spira, who last worked with 3D photography and had founded one of the world's finest collections of equipment from the early days of photography, to retire back.

Biography

Childhood

Siegfried Franz Spira was the son of Hans Spira, a department head of the Farm Credit and his wife Paula (b. Back) in a well -to-do Viennese family to the world. In 1938 he was forced because of his Jewish origin, cancel the high school, one of the last transports of children he fled in 1939 as a fourteen- year-old from his native Vienna to London. In June 1940, the Spira family in New York celebrated their reunion.

Youth

Since the former prosperity of the family after fleeing hardly anything was left, the bathroom was converted into a darkroom to which soon came yet another room as a studio. The customer base of Spira was beginning mainly from Austrian emigrants. Even the formerly Imperial Habsburg-Lorraine family was photographed by Spira, from " Siegfried Franz" was now " S. Franklin Spira " become, but his life "Fred" was called.

The beginnings of Spiratone

That Fred Spira was not planning to make a lifetime passport photos, soon became apparent after his arrival in New York. He was more interested in the technology, ie for Lenses & Filters, Cameras and film development. In the late forties, he began with the sale of new and used cameras, wide-angle and telephoto lenses. Besides offering Spiratone services like refilling of 35mm film cartridges or film development. Ordering and shipping were made by post, the customers were contacted via advertisements in trade journals.