In the 1930s Leica used a
very distinctive style of advertising.
Fortunately, some of these ads have been preserved and I am the lucky
owner of some of them.
It is also no secret that the
Leica was copied quite blatantly by several other camera manufacturers,
including FED and ZORKY in Russia. In
several instances they didn’t even use their own company names. Instead they literally made fake Leicas,
including the Leica script, Leica names on the lenses and fake serial numbers.
But they didn’t stop
there. They also copied the Leica ads of
the time and used them for their own purposes.
Fortunately, international
law has progressed to eliminate (some of) these practices and Leica Camera AG
doesn’t have to compete with fake examples of their cameras any longer.
Virtually the same ad for the FED...
...and for the Zorki
Those Russians aren't bashful with their copying Leicas, aren't they?
ReplyDeleteNeither were companies in a large number of other countries, including the US, Great Britain, china and especially Japan.
ReplyDeleteAre some of these companies still around today?
ReplyDeleteYes, like Canon, Nikon, Minolta and Yashica for instance.
ReplyDeleteI know that early Canon cameras looked a lot like Leicas. But I have never seen anything from Nikon, Minolta and Yashica that even remotely looked like anything from Leica.
ReplyDeleteI am currently preparing an article on that very subject. It should be ready tomorrow or the day after.
ReplyDeleteThe article has been published as "Leica Copies."
Delete