Rare Leica 1(A) with f2.5 5cm lens found! Photo Gallery by Mel Snyder at pbase.com

Rare Leica 1(A) with f2.5 5cm lens found!

A friend was going through an old box of stuff from her late father, who survived the Holocaust, and down at the bottom she found "an old black camera." And she called me.

She described it as being marked "E. Leitz" "Wetzlar" and with a "Hektor" lens -- but no "Leica" marking. "Hektor"? -- that was the name given to a pair of old screw-mount pre-war telephoto lenses -- but she said this one didn't unscrew. And it was very short -- Hektors I knew were were LONG.

I quickly emailed her a Leitz camera history page for identification -- and low and behold, she picked out the earliest pre-Leica brand production Leitz models, the I(A). But the one shown had a 5cm f3.5 Elmar. The serial number matched perfectly. She found one of the 60,000 Leica I(A) cameras. Not bad!

Then I read further:

"The I (A) has a non-interchangeable lens, mostly a 3.5/50 mm. (With the introduction of interchangeable lenses, initially made to fit one particular body, later freely interchangeable, the camera became the I (C).) The first 144 I (A) had a five-element lens called "Anastigmat." This lens was called "Elmax" in the next 713 cameras. Due to these low production numbers, both types are extremely expensive today and probably out of most collectors' reach.

"Beginning with serial number 1300 (1926), a four-element lens was used that was to become a Leica standard lens: The Elmar 3.5/50 mm. A depth-of-field scale on this lens was introduced with serial number 46,000. While the "normal" Elmar had a nearest focusing distance of 3 ft (1 m), some export cameras were equipped with a lens that could focus down to 1.5 ft (0.5 m).

"I mentioned that I (A) cameras mostly had a 3.5/5 cm lens. The exception is a small series of 1330 cameras made in 1930/31 that were equipped with the faster 2.5/5 cm "Hektor" lens. (It is said that the name was chosen by Professor Max Berek who developed the lens because his dog's name was "Hektor.") Due to this small number, these cameras are not exactly cheap today."

(A Leica expert subsequently confirmed that, despite the serial number, this is in fact one of those 1330 cameras).

Then she looked further in the box, and after another exchange of email'd pages, I determined she also has the Leitz accessory vertical rangefinder.

Today, I snapped these images of the Leica. Although about as worn as most used Leicas I have seen, it is otherwise in fabulous shape. The lens seems clear, no fungus (no coating to attract and culture it!) and no delamination of the lens cement. Some very minor wipe marks on the lens, A small ding on the lens mount. Shutter speeds sound right on (it was stored uncocked), and when I shone a light through the lens with the diaphragm open, the focal plane shutter looked pristine. as did the pressure plate. No dirt inside, and no flaking antireflection paint. Could use a bit of grease on the lens, and a careful dust-cleaning from the exterior. The rangefinder seems accurate and superimposes nicely. I can't wait to load some film into it and take some photographs!

This is the camera that started 35mm photography. I've never seen one outside a museum. I know i never saw a Hektor lens version. This one is going into a safety deposit box tomorrow.

Her father died more than 20 years ago, in all likelihood totally unaware of the rarity of what he had. His daughter believes he must have bartered for it in a DP (displaced person) camp at the end of the war, and simply kept it as a memento. He and his wife spent the war hiding in forests to escape the Nazis, arrived at the DP camp with just the clothes on their backs, and arrived at Ellis Island virtually penniless. She doesn't ever remember seeing him use the camera. He wasn't at all into photography.

Ironic, because Ernst Leitz and his daughter helped hundreds of Jewish Leitz workers to escape Germany during the war, and his daughter was arrested by the Gestapo trying to smuggle a Jewish woman across the Swiss border. His daughter was sent to a concentration camp, but was ransomed by a huge bribe to the Nazis.

This camera has been waiting to be found and appreciated all that time.

The First Production 35mm Camera: The Leica 1(A)
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Canon IVs2.jpg

Kiev 4A.jpg
Leica IIIa.jpg
Kodak_Bullet.jpg
Zenit_C.jpg

post a comment

Guest 11-Jul-2008 06:53

Always a spoil sport in the crowd. No camera is in original condition. It's rare and wonderful and valuable enough, especially given its history.

Guest 22-Jun-2007 20:06

This camera has been conversed by Leitz somewhere in the thirties. It is not in original condition. But, in any case, a fine piece! Erik van Straten, Amsterdam, Holland.

click on thumbnails for full image

The First Production 35mm Camera: The Leica 1(A)	141-.jpg	144-.jpg	155-.jpg	159-.jpg
161-.jpg	166-.jpg	172-.jpg	189-.jpg	Canon IVs2.jpg
Kiev 4A.jpg	Leica IIIa.jpg	Kodak_Bullet.jpg	Zenit_C.jpg

Guest		11-Jul-2008 06:53
Always a spoil sport in the crowd. No camera is in original condition. It's rare and wonderful and valuable enough, especially given its history.

Guest		22-Jun-2007 20:06
This camera has been conversed by Leitz somewhere in the thirties. It is not in original condition. But, in any case, a fine piece! Erik van Straten, Amsterdam, Holland.