Perhaps it is not only photography related. I remember the days of well stocked gun shops, flyfishing shops, places where, if you live in the sticks ( far away from towns) like I do you stand in awe at the selection of goods on the shelves. And not just the usual stuff was there to see, but items only read about in magazines too.
The gunshops were a treat, they all had a grumpy gunsmith stuck in a dark corner somewhere who would gladly help with a long missing screw for an old rifle, usually at no charge. But then again I was a kid and they probably saw the enthusiasm I had for firearms.
The flyfishing shop I frequented had an area reserved for the materials used in flytying that was probably 10 by 10 metres wall space. What materials you find these days will probably fit in a shoe box.
And how can I forget the book store where I often spent the whole day as a kid when my mom had to go and do her work in the city..I can still smell the pages of the books.. These things are all long gone.
There used to be a gunshop here in Pollensa, where they sold all sorts of arms. I went there to buy fireworks (which they were licensed to sell) to try and scare away the pigeons that shit everywhere and clog the drains and thus cause leaks and dampness in the roofs of the buildings.
The gunshop has gone. Nada mas - zilch left.
In the 60s there was a little Leica specialist in Paisley, in Scotland; he also sold 'blad. In the end, he told me he had given up on 'blad because he couldn't get them at the prices the big boys in London could
sell them. That is not fair trading. I always believed that all suppliers should be charged the same from the factory; how else can small shops and towns survive? If you, the dealership, can make economies of scale, they should be in efficiency, not in strong-arm buying practices. I believe that the shop now no longer sells Leica either. March of
progress? More like barbarism, to me.
Rob C
