Why Art Matters: Spy Camera!

Temptation courtesy of the Johnson Smith Co.  

The true definition of temptation for a child of the 70s has to be back-page comic book adverts for such amazing products as Sea Monkeys, magic tricks, Charles Atlas workout routines, ant farms, and slot machine banks. 

What I wanted, more than anything, was the miniature spy camera. Like a pint-sized Margaret Bourke-White, I was going to document, in teeny-tiny pictures, life on the east side of Jackson, that 10-block radius that was my world back then. 

But to obtain the camera required a combination of candy wrappers (Bazooka or Dum-Dum), a self-addressed, stamped envelope, and/or a check or money order from mom and dad. Therein lay the problem - parents who attempted to put a rein on candy and junk coming into the house, there was no way they would say yes to giving me the $2.95 required to obtain the object of my desire. I didn't even bother to ask. 

Dream unfulfilled.

110 retro style

Flash-forward 50 years or so, and I have been hit with ads for retro camera keychains. They look like the 110 cameras of old, with bright packaging, cute designs, and cool filters. They were advertised by Facebook sellers for $14.95 and have become a viral hit with the kids, as there are five designs to collect, including a mystery package. 

But I have become wary of FB sellers after the seven-for-the-price-of-one sweater grifters from Christmas. And, I was looking for something more specific, an unresolved dream as remembered from my Casper the Friendly Ghost and Josie and the Pussycats comics. 

It's taken nearly 50 years, and here you are 

And then I found it - the spy camera of my youth for $9.99 on Amazon. Using the inflation calculator set to 1976, $2.95 is actually worth $17.27 today, so I got it cheaper than it would have been back then. On top of that, I had a $10 credit in my account from a virtual test session I did a while ago. Well, that's practically free. 

I hit that Buy Now button, fully expecting crap. 

It arrived in less than 24 hours. 

It looks just like a miniature Pentax K-1000. It also came with a built-in flash, a charging cord, a keychain, a wrist strap, a memory card, and instructions on how to use it. It holds 9999 images, so no film processing. It holds a charge very well. There are filters! The LCD display is tiny, but it works. There's a date and time stamp that I need to figure out how to update. It's freaking adorable. 

So far, I've taken pictures of Dave, a bird's nest, the backyard, my desk, and random selfies. I can't wait to take more.