John S. CRAIG

CRAIG, John S. John Scott Craig died of cancer peacefully at home Friday, (February 25, 2011). He is survived by his beloved wife, the Hon. Joyce Krutick Craig (Ret.), and devoted children, Samuel Walker Craig of Hawaii, step-son Ian Barlow and wife, Heather Tasker Barlow, of Washington DC, and doting granddaughter, Harper Isabel Barlow. His daughter, Sarah Theresa Craig predeceased him in 1996. Born October 23, 1943 in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania to the late John S. Craig, II and Frances Craig (nee Gallagher), Craig graduated from the Shadyside Academy and went on to receive his BA from Wesleyan University in 1965. His interest in antique photography began about 1969; fueled from working as a photographer/reporter at the Hartford Courant while in college. After graduation, Craig spent another six years with The Courant, as well as owning his own retail camera store in Simsbury, and serving as a photographer with the Connecticut Army National Guard. One of the first "professional" full-time dealers in photographica in this country, Craig published a catalog in 1970 and inadvertently became a photographic historian. Craig was the Founding President of the New England Photographic Historical Society. He was active before SHUTTERBUG magazine's publication, and then wrote a column for them, opining about the various collector's shows around the country. Highlights of Craig's career came in three interviews and photo sessions with the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and a 1960s/1970s interview with the hugely controversial figure, Timothy Leary. During the August 1967 racial violence that erupted in New Haven CT, Craig was deployed to cover the unrest with a camera. Craig's logo of the early photographer standing behind his camera, with the dark cloth over his head, was registered as his world-wide trademark in 1973. For years he has attended collector's shows from coast to coast; been the subject of mention in Popular Photography, The Rangefinder, Camera and Darkroom, and numerous other publications. As a photographic dealer, he carried more than 155,000 instruction booklets for thousands of cameras, accessories and projectors; and nearly 10,000 other interesting photography items. As early as 1971, Craig published reprints of early photographic catalogs, usable and classic camera instruction booklets, and worthwhile camera repair manuals. The distinguished Craig's Daguerreian Registry, the acknowledged reference work among dealers and collector's for identifying and dating the more than 12,000 photographers, who worked in the United States prior to 1860, was published in 1994 with two subsequent editions. Craig attended many collector's shows and flea markets since the early 1970's. Professionally, he was a faithful attendee and dealer at the annual Daguerreian Society Symposiums, most recently in Atlanta. In 2007, the Daguerreian Society awarded Craig its first Fellowship Award, inscribed with these words: For the advancement of scholarship in the field of photo history and the willingness to share that knowledge with his contemporaries and future generation of historians, scholars and collectors. A celebration of Craig's life will be held at his home in the early summer. His wife, Joyce Krutick Craig, is in charge of arrangements. Donations in his memory may be made either to the Daguerreian Society, PO Box 306, Cecil, PA 15321-0306, or to the Lymphoma Research Foundation, 115 Broadway, Suite 1301, New York, NY 10006.