PHSNE notes, with sadness, the passing of Michel Auer (1933–2024) on October 22nd. Auer was very active with PHSNE in its early days as a dealer at shows and a speaker at meetings. He was awarded an honorary life membership in 1980.

In an online obituary, the Swiss photographer was described as “one of the most significant collectors and dealers of cameras and photography and a historian and supporter of photography” who may be “best known by some for his books on cameras and, latterly, for his Foundation based in Hermance, Switzerland, which exhibited photographs and cameras from his collection as well as having a public presence through exhibitions and public events” (source).

After earning a master’s degree in photography in 1958, Auer created and ran the Big laboratory in Geneva, which specialized in large-size photo enlargements. It continued in operation until 1975. Beginning in 1961, his focus shifted to collecting cameras and writing books about them, using his own photos to accompany the text. With Michele Ory, whom he later married, he established a stand at the Paris flea market at Clignancourt. Several of his major collections were acquired by various museums in Europe and Japan.

Auer published The Illustrated History of the Camera, the first coffee-table book on cameras, in 1975. He collaborated with fellow PHSNE member Eaton S. Lothrop on a book about disguised cameras. Some, but not all, of his books were translated into English.

Photo: Michel Auer, self-portrait