The George Eastman House's Technology Collection has been recognized as an Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, or ASME.
The collection houses some 16-thousand photographic and cinematographic equipment, according to curator Todd Gustavson.
"Our collection is pretty much the history of photography, soup to nuts. We start with some pre-photographic items, the oldest camera is a drawing device camera from the 1820s and the newest things are things that are currently manufactured."
ASME Past president, Madiha Kotb says the collection at the George Eastman House tells the story of an industry that has brought fun, leisure and entertainment to many.
"You can see the evolutions of the different kinds of cameras, and how much things have changed from the old technology to what we have now with the digital camera."
She says the designation pays tribute to the mechanical engineering ingeniuty that has been incorporated in those devices.
In the past, ASME has given landmark status to the Disneyland Monorail System, the Model T, and the Apollo Space Command Module and Apollo Space Suit.
An official ceremony to mark the landmark designation for the Technology Collection at the Eastman House was held Monday June 15 at the Dryden Theatre.