The new Leica Camera AG
headquarters in Wetzlar offers a multitude of reasons for a visit. Especially for those interested in the
history of the Leica a visit of the new Leica Museum is definitely worth considering. In recent years the Leica Museum
definitely appeared to be neglected. I
toured the Leica Museum for the first time in the early 1970s when it was still
at the old headquarters in Wetzlar, where the new city hall is located
now. In comparison, the exhibition of
museum pieces at the Solms facility was quite sparse, to say the least. Thus it is exciting to see the renewed emphasis
on the history of the Leica at Leitz Park in Wetzlar. As a matter of fact, Leica has been quite
busy buying collectible pieces of Leica equipment on a regular basis.
Part of the new Leica Museum
Special Leica models for US Air Force (upper left) and US Navy (lower right)
Two versions of the Leica Turret
But not all of the
collectable Leica pieces are on display.
There is paradise for Leica fans, if only it could be visited, a room
with many feet of shelves full of cameras and accessories. In October 2014, right in the middle, still
not unpacked, were several boxes with all sorts of treasures. Stored there was the collection of an American
Leica collector from Rochester, New York.
Earlier that 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 2014, four air
cargo containers went on the trip to Germany. Four months later Daberkow and specialist Lars
Netopil unpacked all the items.
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 of Leica 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. 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.
Leica cameras given as presents to famous personalities like Queen Elizabeth (lower left),
President Dwight Eisenhower (upper right) and Emil Schulthess (upper left)
The storage room includes
one object 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.
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. I feel fortunate to have met this collector
on several occasions. I have learned a
lot about Leica and its history, from him. I am not surprised at all
that he saw to it that his collection made it back to Leica. 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.
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