Industry Imaging Founder Fred Spira Type of business Company | Key people Fred Spira, Founder Key person Fred Spira | |
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Products Accessories for cameras and film development equipment Headquarters New York City, New York, United States Founded Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States | ||
Spiratone focusing rail
Spiratone was a company specializing in low-cost lenses and filters for cameras, lighting, and darkroom equipment.
The company was started by Fred Spira in 1941 in the bathroom of his parents' apartment where he developed film. In 1946, it relocated to a large loft on West 27th Street in Manhattan and then grew to a successful multimillion-dollar company. Mail orders were filled from their larger warehouse store on Northern Blvd. in Flushing, Queens.
Spiratone was an innovator in the industry, being one of the first companies to import Japanese photo equipment to the United States. It also became widely known as a distributor of odd, unique, or novelty photographic equipment such as Color Pre-tinted Black & White Photographic Printing Paper and the right-angled spy lens.
The company was very successful during the 1950s and 60s and then eventually declined due to competition, closing after being acquired by another company in 1990, three years after Mr. Spira retired in 1987.