When a camera gift sparked a lifelong passion
Like many teenagers in the mid-1990s, A.P. Noushad spent his free time collecting coins and stamps. However, sometime in 1996, his hobby took a new
Like many teenagers in the mid-1990s, A.P. Noushad spent his free time collecting coins and stamps. However, sometime in 1996, his hobby took a new turn when his father, Kunhu Muhammed, a Non-Resident Indian working in the Gulf, gifted him a Yashica DX analogue camera. Initially, as the proud owner of a device that made him the envy of his classmates, Mr. Noushad simply captured daily life in his village in Malappuram. But over the years, his fascination evolved into a passion for the instruments themselves. Today, his extraordinary collection boasts over 800 cameras sourced from more than 25 countries.
Spanning multiple generations of photographic history, the collection ranges from vintage box and bellows cameras to Polaroids, underwater equipment, video recorders, and rare military and spy cameras. All these are housed in his private ‘Newseum’ at Thottasseriara, Kannamangalam in Malappuram. “Most of these cameras are from personal collections. They were often collected by parents and grandparents, but the next generation may fail to appreciate their historical value. When such cameras are put up for sale, I try to acquire and preserve them,” said the 43-year-old Assistant Information Officer in Kozhikode.
The cameras in the collection also carry stories of their own. Among them is what Mr. Noushad identifies as the oldest camera in his possession, a variant of the Graflex Speed Graphic, a press camera manufactured in the early 1940s. “The Vageeswari cameras, India’s first field cameras manufactured in Alappuzha, also remain close to my heart, as I spent years searching for one before acquiring it from a collector in Kottayam,” he recalled. His most expensive acquisition is a wooden bellows camera, which he bought from a family in Mangaluru for ₹60,000.
Apart from cameras, his collection includes newspapers dating back to the late 1700s and over 200 radios, pagers, and mobile phones. Among its highlights is a copy of The London Chronicle from 1764. “I am planning to set up a museum next to my house for the public display of these collections,” said Mr. Noushad, who has showcased his curations at around 20 exhibitions across schools and colleges.
The BriefWire