Since I moved to Vermont in 2006, our furnished space has served as a combination game/bar/family room/storage facility, with a heavy emphasis on storage. Cleaning and remodeling has been an “on a rainy day” topic for years. It’s rained often enough, yet idyllic organizational progress matched the pace of the pygmy three-toed sloth.
That is, until we were done cleaning up the carnage from carving a 10-pound turkey for our annual modest family feast–when my brother-in-law sent an excited text about the prospect of a trek north for a holiday visit to end 2023. Like a clap of thunder rolling across the Plains, the idea became a high priority. During the ensuing purge of lives past, I rediscovered the subject of a Swap Meet Find from the May 2012 issue of sister publication Hemmings Motor News: a Savoy box camera.
In late 1960, the colorful, compact Savoy (a product of the Imperial Camera Corporation of Chicago, Illinois) was the scintillating seventh place award that was part of Mercury-Comet’s Prize-O-Rama contest. Thousands of contestants, all of whom were derived from client lists and considered potential repeat buyers, were sent letters proclaiming each recipient to be a winner, courtesy of a numbered prize certificate. The letter read, “First prize is a beautiful 1961 Mercury. Second prize is a fully equipped 1961 Comet. In addition, thousands of other valuable prizes have been awarded including cameras, television sets, stereo Hi-Fi consoles, and portable typewriters. These and all other exciting prizes are listed in the attached prize folder.” Naturally, winning certificates could only be “validated” at a Mercury dealership.
Winning a camera, even an off-brand unit, was hardly a small prize. At a time when men’s shirts cost $4.50, and a woman’s designer knit dress was $14, the average cost of a camera was $12 (or $123 when adjusted for inflation). An off-brand, such as the Savoy, was likely a couple bucks less, yet its single fixed lens was adequate to capture 3×3-inch square, black-and-white, memories. Like the images my dad took of a 1957 Ford Fairlane four-door sedan – equipped with a four-barrel carbureted 312-cu.in. V-8 – that his oldest brother purchased new. Dad used his Kodak Brownie, and I have that camera too.
Like everything else, camera technology has evolved in leaps and bounds, particularly the lenses fitted to the newest smart phones. Professional-grade cameras and lenses alike can run into the thousands, but the results they produce–such as documenting the show-winning debut of our featured 1923 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Pall Mall at the 2023 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance–are worth the expense.
Sharing these pivotal moments in time, however–the Silver Ghost’s purchase, subsequent restoration, anticipated unveiling, and accolades bestowed upon all involved–would not have been possible without another journey… through the Dumping Ground.