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Shanghai’s luxurious Seagull
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FOR the Shanghainese, the word “seagull” stands for more than just a bird. It is, naturally, associated with the seagulls that hover over the Huangpu River, but it also stands for the Seagull SLR camera, a symbol of luxury for most Chinese in the past century.
The Shanghai-branded camera was born in 1958 and was soon produced at the Seagull Camera Factory. It’s production marked the start of the camera industry in Shanghai. The first SLR camera made in China — the Shanghai DF-7 — was produced here in 1964.
The Shanghai camera was rebranded as Seagull for export in 1968. The camera’s clicking sound was so distinct that it became fashionable on the Bund. With each click, the camera and its owners recorded the history of the domestic camera development, of Shanghai being shaped into a fashionable metropolis, and of the romance among young couples in the city.
The Bund was a popular dating spot for young couples in the 1970s-80s. At the time, young men believed that taking pictures for their beautiful girls would help them win their hearts. However, a 120-yuan Seagull was quite a luxury for the majority of the people, considering that the monthly salary at the time was about 40-60 yuan (US$6-9).
A Seagull camera was typically reserved for the “dahu” (wealthy families), and a dream of most photography amateurs. Most ordinary people just borrowed the cameras from rich friends, and developed the photos in their own homes.
Photographic paper, some developing powder, and a blanket to cover the window made it possible for young men to create their own dark room. Popular photo equipment stores like Guanlong on Nanjing Rd, Yimei and Haiying on the Huaihai Rd were often busy with male customers who discussed photo developing while purchasing paper and powder.
However, production of the once luxurious Seagull cameras stopped in 1999, a result of imports of overseas SLRs since the 1980s as well as the arrival of digital cameras. Instead of on the Bund, a Seagull is now most likely found in the city’s museums.
Although a new Shanghai Seagull Digital Camera Company was established in 2011, many residents have nostalgic feelings toward the old Seagull and say that they miss the distinct clicking sound.
“It may be hard to believe that the prototype of the first Seagull was actually hand-made in a small garret of a shukumen (stone-gate) house,” photographer Chen Haiwen, who founded the Shanghai Old Camera Production Workshop in 2012, said.
Chen has a strong emotional tie to the original Seagull as he grew up with seeing it as a symbol of wealth and luxury that were then out of reach. Now a wealthy man, Chen has collected more than 100 Seagull star products of different series.
When he heard that there was still a Seagull production line with thousands of parts and fittings, Chen rushed there and bought the entire line and related parts. In cooperation with the new Seagull Company, Chen invited 12 old mechanics to reshape the old Seagulls, and estimated to make another 1,000 Seagulls with the parts in hand as the last batch of the old Seagulls.
Now, part of the production line was restored for exhibition at his Old Camera Production Workshop in a shikumen house at Tianzi Fang, where camera collectors or amateurs can get a bespoke Seagull or have an old one repaired.
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