So, much more expensive than an iPhone- a desirable luxury item available only to the rich or the very determined. In the early Thirties this little camera cost the equivalent of two of three months' middle class salary, perhaps five or six months' for a labourer. Put a lens on, and this is a fully working camera, though it was made ninety years ago, and has seen a lot of use.Īnd abuse, since the beautifully engraved top plate, with the swirly Leica name has the marks of hasty violence alongside the patina. The knob turns smoothly, and a press of the shutter button delivers the quiet whisper oft described as a kiss. Look through the viewfinder- it is brand-new clean, though the rangefinder at the side needs adjusting. Nothing is missing, except one tiny screw, and the vulcanite covering is beautifully smooth, with just one small chip missing at the side. Pick it up, and the black enamel paint is worn through to the brass exactly where hands have touched it most often.
#LEICA CAMERA SERIAL NUMBER PRODUCTION YEAR CRACK#
It might even have a crack or scorch mark, or joints might need re-gluing, but it would still be 'right' if it isn't pretending to be something it isn't. The table does not look the same as when it emerged from the workshop, but bears the scars of its history. He would cast an appraising eye over (say) a little Georgian Pembroke table, examine the patina, and note that it has never been substantially chopped around or made up from other tables, and that the wear from two hundred years of use is all in the expected places - literally fair wear and tear. The Leica is what the old antiques guru Arthur Negus would have called 'right'. 'We don't bother to put these out- we don't know whether they work.' In Op shops where no cameras are on display I always ask, and from time to time I'm rewarded with a big box carried out from the back of the shop. The moral is that it's always worth asking. I paid roughly half what a similar camera, with the erasure, would fetch, and resolved the uncertainties about the shutter by paying it some close attention.
That evening we agreed a price, and I picked up the camera the next day. I had never heard of this in my decades of buying, so I asked for the seller's email. He replied that no, that never happened with that seller, so there was no point in even asking. The shop was made up of individual display cases rented out to the sellers, so I asked the manager if the seller would take an offer. It was fairly reasonable, but the seller was unsure about the shutter, so my offer had to reflect this. But it also had a big demerit- the external serial number had been erased.įor some this would be a deal-breaker, but not so much when one wants to enjoy actually using it. In the case of this Leica it had with it a very unusual gizmo, a flash synchroniser, not made by Leitz, but high-quality, and made for this camera, so I knew it had some value to collectors, which I could offset against the asking price. Nobody likes to waste money, and it is easy to get carried away with cameras I like! When the camera looks good, the fun for me is balancing what makes it desirable against a sensible degree of caution. The Leica II with scrubbed out serial number. Flea markets are quite challenging, since appraising a camera that might have spent a lot of time in damp, dusty conditions in limited time is hard, and usually offers have to be low.
Whilst buying cameras for a song is less common, there is much in using your own expertise to weigh up possible bargains.
But this does not mean that camera-hunting is over! Nothing is impossible, but cameras with a famous name are likely to be researched, and eBay can usually provide at least a ball-park valuation figure. I have been finding, using and collecting old cameras for over fifty years, so when my wife and I found ourselves in Australia at quite short notice, to look after our first grandchild, I was keen to see what a big city on the other side of the world might have to offer.Ĭamera hunting has changed considerably over my lifetime, and the chances of finding high-end vintage kit in the days of the internet are pretty low, though I did see the 'five-dollar Leica' story a while ago.
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