Renowned antique camera collector Dilish Parekh passes away

Guinness Record holder renowned antique camera collector Dilish Parekh passed away in Mumbai on Tuesday. He was 69.

He is survived by his wife Binita, sons, and daughters-in-law - Jay and Krupali and Harsh and Vidhi and grandsons Kaveer and Aahan.

For Dilish Bhai, as he was popularly known, cameras were everything - he breathed, lived and dreamt cameras. Over decades, he collected cameras and made it to the Guinness World Record with a maximum of 4,425 antique cameras. Dilish's collection includes Leicas, Rolliflexes, Canons, Nikons, Kodaks, Konicas, Zeiss and Linhofs.

Ask about the value, Dilish Bhai would never be real. “It's just love and passion that matters….these are everything to me….camera collectors from all over the world approach me with offers, but these cameras are my life, I am not going to sell them as long as I am alive, I have also instructed my two sons the same…my policy looks around, see what is interesting for you, and collect…collect…collect,” he would often say.

From the size of a button to a huge box with mounts, he has almost everything in his collection. The room where he kept his treasure - at his Pedder Road residence - was like a museum by itself.

Born on September 24, 1953, Dilish started collecting cameras ever since his late grandfather gifted him one in the early seventies.

In 2003, he entered the record books with 2,634 antique cameras only to break the record a decade later in 2013 with 4,425 antique cameras.

His Guinness World Records citation states - “Dilish Parekh of Mumbai, India has a collection of 4,425 antique cameras that he has amassed since 1977 Dilish, who works as a photojournalist has within his collection cameras made by Rolliflex, Canon, and Nikon and a Royal Mail Postage stamp camera that dates back to 1907”.

The India Book of Records states - “Dilish Parekh of Mumbai, Maharashtra, has a collection of a total of 4,425 antique cameras which he has been collecting since 1977, the oldest one dating back to 1890.”

Interestingly, most of these cameras have been sourced from India.

He scouted and rummaged through flea markets, approached old photo studios, interacted with connoisseurs and collectors and even put advertisements in newspapers to get a prized collection and walked into lanes of bylanes of Mumbai’s Chor Bazaar.

Among his rare possessions1934-made Leica 250 as there were less than 1,000 pieces produced and Tessina L, considered to be among the world's smallest and lightest cameras using 35 mm and weighing just five-and-half ounces.