I've never been one to try and keep something in mint condition, I buy things intending to be around when they fall to pieces. Lately, alot of the things I have bought are older from the fifties and sixties. One thing I noticed is that they seemed to put a little more effort into presentation and packaging. My retina tele-xenar 200mm for example, comes in a leather case, with places for rear screw in filters, with an importation card, with the serial number hand written on it. Whereas my Maxxum 7, came in a box, wrapped in plastic and with a blank warranty card. Maybe because I'm youngish, 30, it just seems that more care was put into things before I was born. Now everything is packaged on a system created by an efficiency consultant so as to produce the most streamlined product.
The last time I had the feeling of care, was when I bought my last pair of made in England ( now China ) Doc Martins. I always liked seeing the inspected by so and so sticker on the tongue of my boots. I didn't mind paying 180 bucks a pair because, in even the most basic sense, I felt that there was an actual personal touch to it, not just some faceless, possibly intered political prisoner, making them. I just felt when I looked at that box, how it opened, it seemed like someone actually put some thought into it, that it was actually decided that this simple little piece of packaging may just be a little easier to open. Unlike dvd's and cd's. Thanks for listening to someone who may have a little nostalgia for something that happened before I was born, or might possibly be all in my head.
