By simply looking at the structure of this antique house, you might say that this is just the same with other antique houses lined in the streets of Taal. But as the saying goes, “don’t judge the book by its cover”.
Galleria Taal was formerly owned by the Ilagan-Barnon family. It was built around 1870’s and served as home to Domingo Ilagan & Maria Martinez and their children Aniceto, Rosario, Candida, Conception, Julita and Juan. By the time the Ilagan siblings manage the house, Candida paid her brothers and sisters to gain the whole ownership of the house.
Candida was married to Antonio Barrion and they lived in Galleria Taal with their daughters. The family left the house when Candida passed away in 1975 since their daughters, had their own family in Manila. As time goes by, the beauty of the house faded until it became an eye sore to the village.
In the year 2004, Manny Inumerable, grandson of Candida, initiated the restoration of the house. It remained unoccupied and was only maintained by a caretaker. Later on Manny decided to use the house as a museum for his collection. It was opened for public last March 2010 under the name of Galleria de Taal.
This is not the usual collection of antique furniture that we used to see in ancestral houses, this museum showcases different kind of CAMERAS, literally CAMERAS from different places and period of time. I was totally awed upon seeing his collection. The cameras are not just for display because all that you will see inside the museum are in perfect condition, meaning they are all working and ready to take your pictures anytime J .
Here are some of the examples of Mr.Manny's Collection
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| CENTURY STUDIO CAMERA : 1900 |
KODAK NO 2 BROWNIE F : 1901- 1931
KODAK VIEW CAMERA : 1905
GUNDLACH BANQUENT CAMERA : 1915
"the big black thing I'm holding is the film just imagine how big the films were during those times :) "
LEICA I C : 1931 GERMANY
KODAK JUNIOR SIX16 : 1934 USA
DEARDORFF 8X10 : 1950'S USA
KODAK RETINA IIA : 1951-1954 GERMANY
LEICA III F : 1952-9153 GERMANY
ROLLEIFLEX COLLECTION : 1950's GERMANY
ROYAL 35-M : 1957 JAPAN
" according to our guide this was the first camera of Mr. Manny given to him by his uncle"
PENTAX SPOTMATIC SP-250 : 1964 JAPAN
NIKON F-250 :1968 JAPAN
CANON FTB QL : 1971 JAPAN
NIKON F2S-250 : 1973 JAPAN
CANON F-1N 1976-1981 JAPAN
NIKON FA : 1984 JAPAN
"the one in the center is a 24 karat gold camera, just imagine how much it cost"
Inside the museum are almost hundred pieces of different cameras, it was only half of the collection of Mr. Manny. Well if your one of those people who's getting addicted to photography you might as well plan a visit in this place to a glimpse of a little history of the photography world and be inspired at the same time with this collection.
BAYANIHAN
"one of the photographs that can be seen inside the building"
"Happy Traveling"
