Walter Zapp

Inventor Walter Zapp, born in Riga, Latvia in 1905, was best known for creating the iconic Minox subminiature camera, and for co-founding the camera manufacturer of the same name. Zapp's family moved to Estonia in 1922, where, at age 17, he apprenticed with art photographer, Walter Lemberg. Working in Lemberg’s studio, Zapp became frustrated with the large, heavy, and bulky photographic plate cameras of the day mounted on unwieldy wooden tripods. This experience compelled him to design a smaller, compact camera. Although Zapp had no background in engineering or optical design, he had an innate aptitude for machines and was self-taught in physics, geometry, and technical drawing. By 1936, he completed a... more.

We have one object that Walter Zapp has been involved with.

If you would like to cite this person in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/people/2318813188/ |title=Walter Zapp |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=21 February 2026 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>