Dedication to our customers

Founded in 1938, Rutherford’s Camera Shop has been providing the Doylestown area with quality products and services for more than seventy years. Starting with just $100.00 after graduating from high school, Milton Rutherford left his job with the American Store (now Acme Markets) to pursue his passion of photography. He rented a store on East State Street and opened as “Photography by Milton Rutherford”. Over the years he photographed many different events and places around Doylestown and Bucks County. He also took portraits of many notable people in the area, such as Oscar Hammerstein and James A. Michener.

In 1943 Milton purchased the building at 23 West State Street where the business is today. This building also served as the first residence for him and his wife of more than sixty years. Through the next few decades the building would be renovated, expanded, and remodeled several times to accommodate the changing business. In the forties an addition was made to the rear of the store to do blueprints for the Naval Air Development Center in Willow Grove and an enlarged darkroom for on site processing and printing. An incinerator was installed in the basement to destroy classified documents Milton photographed for the Navy. In the fifties a photography studio was added to the second floor for portraits and other jobs.

In the seventies Milton’s two sons came to work for him and in 1988 he retired and turned the business over to them. The name of the business was changed to Rutherford’s Camera Shop and a partnership was formed between the brothers Lee and Bruce. The store was expanded and the offices moved back to where the blue printing had been done. In the late nineties they bought new equipment to do digital printing on site and now offer a complete line of digital services. The photo studio was also remodeled and they now use it to do all kinds of portraits and product shots.

Photography has gone through many changes over time and the Rutherford family has been able to adapt and change their business structure to maintain a competitive edge against the competition.