100 years of Leica: Witness to a century (1925-2025) 

Leica Camera AG celebrates 100 years of Leica: the anniversary of the first series-produced Leica 35 mm camera 

For Leica Camera, 2025 marks 100 years of Leica I. First presented to the public at the Leipzig Spring Fair in 1925, it was the first mass-produced Leica 35mm camera. With its compact and handy format, it created new photographic applications and revolutionised the world of photography.

Leica Camera AG’s celebrations around the world are therefore being held under the motto “100 Years of Leica: Witness to a Century” with numerous cultural highlights and exciting new products. 

‘I hereby decide: we will take the risk’

With these formative words, the entrepreneur Ernst Leitz II decided to mass-produce the ground-breaking invention of the “Ur-Leica” by Oskar Barnack. Barnack, a precision mechanic and head of the testing department at Ernst Leitz Werke, had been continuously dabbling in photography in his spare time and was working on an entirely new and compact 35mm camera.

War delays

He completed the prototype of the original Leica as early as 1914, but further development was delayed due to the challenges of the world war. After its presentation at the Leipzig Spring Fair in 1925, the Leica I triggered a revolution in photography. As the first compact and lightweight Leica camera with a 24×36mm 35mm format, it made photography a natural part of everyday life.

For the first time, it was possible to take pictures of real life — capturing the decisive moment — and thus created wholly new possibilities for use and expression. The genre of reportage and documentary, as well as street and artistic photography, was born. 

The Leica I is considered to be the first milestone in the Leica product portfolio and laid the foundation for the continuing success story of Leica Camera AG. To this day, the company continues to play a key role in shaping the technological development of photography, investing in groundbreaking technologies and consistently expanding into new business areas.

Global community

Leica Camera Group is celebrating the Leica I 2025 anniversary with a global community of photography enthusiasts. The programme includes international events organised by Leica subsidiaries in major cities such as Dubai, Milan, New York, Shanghai, and Tokyo.

In addition, the worldwide network of Leica Galleries will host high-calibre exhibitions featuring the work of outstanding photographers. The highlight of the anniversary year will be the celebrations at the company’s headquarters in Wetzlar in June.

International guests can look forward to a varied programme of cultural highlights during the anniversary week. As a tribute to the region and the city of Wetzlar, the birthplace of Leica, further local cultural projects are planned in the city.

Special editions

The anniversary year will be accompanied by the release of several ‘Special Edition’ products that celebrate the groundbreaking invention of an icon of the century. A cinema film on the development of 35mm photography by Reiner Holzemer will be presented, as well as an exhibition by the renowned photographer Sebastião Salgado, at the Ernst Leitz Museum in Wetzlar.


More information about Leica

I hereby decide, we will take the risk: Read about it on Macfilos



6 COMMENTS

  1. My nomination for a special edition: The late Leica CL, which, in my view, is the digital model that most resembles the Leica I.

    • I second that and I wish they would be brave enough to take a risk with a CL2 type model, a new X-vario or a fixed lens APO compact smaller than the Q. it’s what my camera bag is crying out for.
      Still. it’s great that Leica is still here after so many years. Long may they continue.

  2. Thanks, Jon. The Leipzig Spring Fair took place in the first week of March 1925. There are advertisements for the ‘Leica’ from around May 1925, but there is a first print of an instruction manual from January 1925 which refers to the Leitz Kleinfilm Kamera as ‘Leca’. Prior to that the term was not used and what we refer to today as the Ur-Leica and the 0 Series Leicas were not called ‘Leicas’ in their day. As Wellington is alleged to have said about Waterloo there were several occasions where the fate of the ‘kleinfilm’ camera was a ‘close run thing’, even down the oft-told tale of the timing of the lunch of Ernst Leitz. The present day Leica AG is right to celebrate this occasion which was not only a monumental occasion for the company, but for a whole genre of cameras and a photographic styles which have continued until now. Which begs the question of what cameras and photography might be like today if Barnack did not have his vision and the tenacity to drive it through and develop it.

    Anyone who knows me, will know that I prefer originals to special editions, but if one or more centennial editions appear in 2025, I hope that they will in some way recognise the great vision of Oskar Barnack which is still relevant today.

    William

    • Many thanks William. Your insight is always appreciated. It’s always easy with hindsight to see success stories, but foresight for Barnack must have been an anxious period of holding conviction against the pressure of naysayers.

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