Calumet through the Years

In 1939, Ken Becker opened Calumet in Chicago as a storefront specializing in sporting goods that also sold some cameras.

Calumet's destiny as a leading photography supplier was shaped by a seemingly minor event. One day, a customer traded a metal-bending hand brake for a Deardorff camera. Becker seized the opportunity to use the hand brake to manufacture stainless-steel developing trays for local photo labs and photographers. The trays caught on, and this new manufacturing side of the business grew to include tanks, sinks, and print washers.

In 1955, Kodak left the view camera business, selling Calumet the rights to its Master View 4x5 camera. This new venture set the course for other photographic innovations by Calumet in the 1960s, such as the Caltar large format lens line, the C-2 roll film holder, and nitrogen burst film and print processors.

After 40 years of manufacturing and selling its own brand of large format, lighting, and darkroom products, Calumet became a supplier of nonproprietary professional photographic products and introduced its first full-line Photographer's Catalog in 1980.

More than a listing of Calumet's expansive product line, the catalog delivered useful information for photographers from technical data for large-format work to darkroom advice. The added information made the catalog an indispensable reference and established Calumet's role as an educational resource. This role continues today with the company's offerings of educational seminars, new product demonstrations, weekly email newsletters, and the bimonthly Focus magazine.

Today, Calumet is a leading global retailer, distributor, rental network, and manufacturer of professional photographic, digital imaging, and video equipment. It has 29 retail locations around the world in the United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, and Germany. Calumet's U.S. website boasts over 18,000 products from all the leading photo and video manufacturers.

As the company continues to grow as an industry leader, its 70-year commitment remains to provide unmatched customer service, expert advice, and top-quality products.

More Info on Our History

Calumet and the Internet
In 1998, Calumet made shopping easier by launching calumetphoto.com, the largest online photographic catalog of the time.

The Calumet Name
Back when Ken Becker started his business, all the phone numbers in a town or neighborhood started with an exchange, such as Manhattan's famous "Butterfield-8". The area where Becker's store opened was served by the exchange "Calumet".