An unusual Swiss-made Michel camera, designed for pigeon-powered photography, scored the highest bids at Auction Team Breker's March 23 sale in Germany.
 Michel's pigeon cameras weighed only 70g, yet pigeons still required specialist training to carry them |
The camera was designed by Christian Adrian Michel in 1936 to be strapped to the back of a pigeon - an idea that came as a result of Michel's assignment to the Swiss army's carrier pigeon service in 1931. Weighing just 70g and using 16mm film, it sold for $15,000.
The concept of pigeon photography was first developed in 1907 by Julies Neubronner, who had initially planned his idea for military use. However, developments in aviation technology during the first world war meant that Neubronner's invention was soon forgotten.
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