In 1980, PhotoVisuals of
Minneapolis, the first Leica only store in the US, commissioned artist Susan Kennedy to create an original piece of
Leica art. It was to be in honor of
Oskar Barnack and his invention of the Leica.
The idea was to show Oscar Barnack as well as some items out of the then
current Leica catalog.
Susan Kennedy was given total
freedom in the design of the artwork.
After a few weeks she presented several different layouts in form of
sketches. After considerable
evaluations, one began to stand out from the others and Susan was asked to draw the original poster.
It showed two pictures of
Oskar Barnack, created after two photographs, one of him sitting on his workbench and the other a head shot portrait. Also included in the poster were the Ur-Leica, the original prototype
that Oscar Barnack began making in 1913. This
was the camera that gave 35mm photography, as we know it, its start. One important part of the poster was to show
how the original Ur-Leica had progressed to that date. Subsequently the Leica M4 was shown as the
then latest model in the development of the Leica cameras. In addition two of the current Leica lenses
were shown also, a 90mm f/2.8 Tele Elmarit and a 135mm f/4 Tele Elmar.
All these individual pictures were combined in the poster. This was later made into a limited series of lithographs, all of which found their original owners soon after their introduction.
The LEICA Barnack Berek Blog
has reproduced the original poster in a 13 x 16.7 inch size and made them once
again available for all Leica enthusiasts at a cost of $ 25.00 including
shipping and handling. These
reproductions are made in form of giclee prints, printed on archival paper with
archival inks.
For orders please contact us
at info@gmpphoto.com
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I have original #3/100 for sale serious offers only....there has been no original up for sale that I have seen or known.... NOT a small reproduction..... ORIGINAL.. I
ReplyDeleteinformation to serious offers...ANY offers under 5000 will not be considered... should be sold for 10,000 -25000
Can you tell me more about it? The #3/100 seems to indicate that this is not the original but a copy limited to a set of 100. I would also like to know what the size of the image/poster is and what is it printed on. Thank you
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