Saturday, October 25, 2014

LEICA COLLECTION FROM THE US ACQUIRED BY LEICA CAMERA AG


by Gert Heiland

This is paradise for Leica fans, a room with many feet of shelves full of cameras and accessories. Right in the middle, still not unpacked, are several boxes with all sorts of treasures. Stored here is the collection of an American Leica collector from Rochester, New York.

Earlier this year, Holger Daberkow, himself a Leica enthusiast and photographer, was asked to bring the extensive collection to Wetzlar. Daberkow spent six days in the basement of the house in Rochester. About 1600 objects, from screw mount cameras to current models, had to be cataloged and packaged. In April, four air cargo containers went on the trip to Germany. Four months later Daberkow and specialist Lars Netopil unpacked all the items.

<p>Holger Daberkow (links) und Lars Netopil im Museumsmagazin.  (Fotos: Heiland)</p>
Holger Daberkow (left) and Lars Netopil in the storage area of the Leica museum (Foto: Heiland)

Nobody speaks about the value of the collection, especially since the American collector was not so much interested in the money, rather he wanted his collection, which he gathered over the span of 50 years, come home and that all the items stay together.

Portions of this collection can now be admired at the Leica Museum in the foyer ofLeica Camera AG. The camera collection has grown substantially, thanks to this major collection from the US.  Netopil can draw from a huge number of items.  Currently the showcases are equipped with special examples of the M-series. There are, for example, prototypes and experimental models, versions of military cameras, and examples of Leicas owned by famous people, such as President Eisenhower and Queen Elizabeth.

One object can be seen which does look somewhat strange among these special cameras. And yet it is not unimportant because it is a plaster model of a Leica M that the Braunfels designer and sculptor Heinrich Janke made in 1953.


<p>Historisches Exponat: Das 1:1 Gipsmodell der Leica M, das Heinrich Janke im Jahr 1953 angefertigt hat.</p>
Plaster model of a Leica M, made by Heinrich Janke in 1953 (Foto: Heiland)

Meanwhile the collector in Rochester is a bit sad now that his basement is empty.  But he kept some miscellaneous items, no cameras, but accessories and promotional material from over six decades. Perhaps all this will come home sometime in the future as well.

This special exhibition is open until Jan. 4 in the foyer of the Leica Camera AG, Leitz-Park 5.   Hours are Monday to Friday from 10 am to 8 pm and Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am to 6 pm.  Admission is free.

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8 comments:

  1. Great post. Do you know who owned that collection?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes I do. However, the individual prefers to remain anonymous.

      Delete
  2. I think it is great that Leica is working on expanding their museum.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Mr. Richter,

    please write the name -Gert Heiland- top of the text,
    and -Heinrich Janke- made the model of M3
    Greats
    Holger Daberkow

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hallo Herr Daberkow,

      vielen Dank für Ihren Kommentar. Ich habe die von Ihnen gewünschten Korrekturen gemacht.

      Delete
  4. i have a leica if special design, no shoes, no strap hooks, different shutter and winding knob, do you know somebody who can tell me something about this camera? i read its been made only 10 to 20 of them, its really that rare?
    my email is federicoerrecalde@gmail.com
    regards!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Leica made a very small number of pre-production cameras in 1923 which were given to a variety of photographers for evaluation, these had no strap lugs, but did have an accessory shoe on most of them. A few were made with a folding viewfinder and did not have an accessory shoe.. Going by your description, yours could possibly one of these cameras. To give you a better identification, it would be very helpful if you could send me a picture of the camera you have.

      Delete
    2. its not so old its from 1956/57 i think. Is a leica 1f special, that was used in an university with a microscope, here you can see a picture: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J26xt2afsxY/VP_6-2Fr_jI/AAAAAAAADNU/xnNZc06Ry0A/s1600/11058796_10206010097282046_1540121187841909133_n.jpg

      Delete