The first time I saw the
Leica Stammbaum (Family Tree) was in 1972 during a visit to Ernst Leitz Wetzlar
(that was the name of the company before it was changed to Leica Camera). It was on display in the Leica museum,
located at their old headquarters, which is now the Wetzlar city hall.. It was an impressive display. You would reach it via a freestanding
staircase in the main lobby, going up to the second floor. The Stammbaum was the first item you saw at
the entrance to the museum.
It has changed little
since then. It still shows the Ur-Leica,
the original prototype at the bottom and then all subsequent models of the
Leica rangefinder cameras up to the first Leica reflex cameras. At that point the Stammbaum splits into two
sections, one for the Leica reflex models and one for the rangefinder
cameras. The only changes have been the
addition of new camera models as they were developed, and the original Ur-Leica
has been replaced with a replica. The
original is now sitting safely in a vault.
Of course the appearance
of the display has changed many times, especially when Leica made the move to
Solms several years ago. Even there the
display changed its appearance, the last time after the renovation of the Solms
lobby about four years ago.
The original Leica
Stammbaum in Solms prior to the renovation of the lobby
Photo: R. Kok
The last version of the Leica Stammbaum in
Solms
Photo: H. Richter
When Leica Camera AG moved
back to Wetzlar, to their new headquarters at Leitz Park, the general
assumption was that the Leica Stammbnaum would move also. But it hasn’t been on display at all. The new Leica museum is showing a lot of
exciting and rare items, but the Stammbaum is nowhere to be seen
What happened? The simple answer is that Leica doesn’t own
the Stammbaum any longer. A while ago I
received word of what happened to it from the Leica Store in Manchester,
UK. The owner David Stephens kindly gave
us permission to use his account and photographs of this historical event.
In November 2013
David and Richard visited the old Leica Solms Factory to collect some
equipment. On display was the Historic Leica Stammbaum minus the iconic
collection from Leica’s 99 years of camera production. The receptionist told us
that the cameras had been taken to the new Leitz-Park in Wetzlar for display in
state of the art glass cabinets. So begged the question – ‘What are you doing
with the Tree?” – After several conversations/emails
and phone calls with the powers that be we received an email in February 2014
saying that, for an agreed price, we could ‘collect’ the Tree from Solms for
our new Leica Store in Manchester. Guess what? Richard and David booked the
next available ferry from Hull to Rotterdam and drove down to Solms, cash in
pocket, to collect the one and only Leitz Family Tree. What a coup !
Not all went smoothly – the tree, even in its
disassembled three pieces was somewhat a snug fit in our trusty Octavia Estate.
So with chins on the dashboard we set off back to Manchester. Back at base we
started the task of assembling the history of Leica from 1914-2014 (100 Years
of Leica in Leica’s 100th Anniversary Year).
After several months and many trawls through various
online sites we finally managed to replicate the original ideology of the tree
display filling it with Pre Leica M Cameras, LeicaFlex Cameras, and Leica M and
R Cameras. Some of the cameras on the tree are exceedingly rare, and we are
privileged to be able to display them all in our store for Leica lovers around
the world to enjoy.
The Leica Stammbaum at its
new home at Leica Store Manchester
Photo: Leica Store
Manchester
What we have is a truly historical piece of Leica Art
which we hope you will come and enjoy next time you’re visiting Manchester.
I have to agree. This was indeed a coup.
But now the Leica Stammbaum
is once again destined to move. Leica
Store Manchaster completed it with 107
cameras, to bring it back to its original condition, showing the development of
Leica cameras from the original prototype, the Ur-Leica in from 1913 in form of
a replica to the present.
Needless to say, that
presents a considerable assortment of collectable Leica cameras. For that reason, it was decided to sell the Stammbaum
in its completed from in an auction at Christies. In their catalog they write:
Lot 571
LEICA CAMERA
FAMILY TREE
LEITZ/LEICA, GERMANY, 20TH CENTURY
EstimateGBP 350,000 - GBP 450,000
(USD 456,400 - USD 586,800)
A history of the Leica camera comprising 107 of the
principal models, showing the history of the marque from pre-production models,
the screw-fit Leica series, M-series, R-series, to digital models, from c1923
to 2006, mounted as a family tree by model and date of production, on a
custom-built display unit, formerly part of the Leica Sölms factory museum
For a full listing of the cameras and additional notes
please visit christies.com or see the index at the back of catalogue.
Approx. 118 in. (300 cm.) high; 87.5 in. (222 cm.)
wide
Contact Client Service
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Sophie
McKinney
+44 (0)20 7752 3276
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the Leica Store Manchester. Go to:
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I am amazed that Leica sold the Solms Stammbaum.
ReplyDeleteYou certainly are not the only one. As the Leica grapevine has it, Leica is regretting that move.
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