In the 1970s the GAF Corporation donated their historic camera collection to the Smithsonian. GAF was a film based photographic supplies company which had a long history of purchasing other photographic business. GAF was the successor to the German based AGFA ASNCO and had U.S. headquarters in Binghamton, New York. Through AGFA ANSCO the company also held historic early photographic equipment from the important American camera makers Anthony and Scovill. This ANSCO Shur Shot camera was possibly the most popular of their box cameras, produced about 1948. It was a basic box camera with a vertically stripped aluminum front and used 120 film.

From its invention in 1839, the camera has evolved to fit many needs, from aerial to underwater photography and everything in between. Cameras allow both amateur and professional photographers to capture the world around us. The Smithsonian’s historic camera collection includes rare and unique examples of equipment, and popular models, related to the history of the science, technology, and art of photography.