Walter Zapf (1905–2003), Minox camera, manufactured by VEF, Riga, Latvia, steel case, 1936. 1.8 x 10 x 8cm.
The concept of the Minox emerged from the burst of miniature camera development during the 1920s, which first produced the Leica. However, the young engineer Walter Zapp wanted to create an even smaller camera that could be held in the palm of the hand. The starting point of his pioneering, ergonomic design was a carved block of wood with rounded corners.
Compactness and convenience were key features of the final Minox design, and the camera is readied for use simply by pulling on and expanding its case by 1.5cm to reveal the lens. But Zapp also wanted to produce a precision instrument, and the 15mm focal length of the high-quality lens corresponds closely with that of the human eye, resulting in the Minox having unusual depth of field and giving distinctively natural photographic results as compared with other camera formats.
The Minox was manufactured by the Riga engineering company VEF, makers of torches, irons and other consumer products. Production of the camera began in 1937 at the rate of two per day and, in its original brass version, the Minox was an unusual luxury item. Owing to its miniature size, it was soon perceived to have military and intelligence uses. When production restarted in Germany after the war, with a new ultra-light aluminium casing, it became an icon of the Cold War and in particular of espionage fiction, a reputation that has tended to obscure Zapp’s original contribution to the passion of the inter-war years for spontaneous photography.
Design is fine. History is mine. 