A date for your diary if you aren’t busy on Saturday, April 21. In Solms, near Wetzlar, you will find the 2018 Solms Camera Trade Fair, something of a magnet for Leica collectors from all over Europe. The fair was founded by well-known Leica expert Lars Netopil who runs the Leica Store Wetzlar and has grown in strength and appeal over the years.
Reader José Manuel Serrano Esparza brought this year’s event to my attention and sent me a link to his review of the 2016 fair, including many photographers, some of which I have used here. José recommends the fair to any Leica fan and hopes that Macfilos readers will be encouraged to attend.
All images by José Manuel Serrano Esparza
The idea of organising a camera trade fair in Solms, which had been the home of Leica since 1987, came about in 1994. It was felt that it would assume outstanding importance in comparison with other fairs because of the location. Although the Leica factory moved back to Wetzlar in 2014, Solms has become the permanent home of the fair.
That said, the Solms fair isn’t an exclusively Leica event. Over 40 percent of the fair is devoted to other fine modern and antique equipment. José believes that for content this fair is one of the best in the world, featuring an amazing quantity of items in good condition. He mentions the many LTM, M and R Leica cameras and lenses, plus Hasselblad, Nikon, Canon, Pentax, medium-format Rolleiflex TLR as well as large-format cameras and lenses.
- The next Solms Camera Trade Fair will take place onSaturday, April 21st 2018
- Read José’s report on one of the 2016 events
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Thanks Mike. Fairs like this are like magnets for collectors. In the UK, Photographica performs a similar role. I believe that Lars Netopil is from Solms and his parents still live there. As well as Lars, I recognise Jo Geier, who used to work for Westlicht and now runs a ‘high end’ collectibles shop and Hans Ploegmakers who is not only an expert in all things Leica, but also knows a lot about other makes eg Nikons. In Germany generally about half of the cameras at such fairs would be Leicas, but German collectors also have in interest in many other makes. Since the take over of Westlicht and Rahn Auctions by Leica AG the more ‘bread and butter’ Leica items have tended to go to Rahn and the higher end stuff has gone to Westlicht. The next Westlicht Auction on 10th March has only about 35% Leica representation in its catalogue, but the Leica items that are there include some pretty top end items, including a 0 Series (current bid €600,000) and an M3 Prototype (current bid €300,000).
I wonder do they allow haggling at Solms?
William