Over 800 guests were in Wetzlar last week for the 100th anniversary celebrations of the introduction of the Leica Camera in 1925. The 46th Leitz Photographica Auction was a suitable finale and introduced many newcomers among the guests to the world of camera auctioneering.
Earlier this month I outlined my picks for this important auction in this Macfilos article, and it’s interesting to see the reflection in the results.
No. 112 fetches €6 million
The highlight of the event was always going to be Lot No. 8, the 0-Series No.112 prototype which had been allocated to Oskar Barnack. As the creator of what came to be known as the Leica Camera (LEitz CAmera), Barnack is the most significant individual among the list of “beta testers” for the camera.
Bidding started slowly, more slowly than I had expected, and it took time to get beyond the minimum estimate of €1,500,000. However, once the bidding topped two million, the competition boiled down to two phone bidders. They fought it out to a final bid of €6,000,000 (€7,200,000 with premium), making it the second most expensive camera ever sold at auction. It fetched half the price of No 105 which was sold by Leitz Auction in Wetzlar in 2022.
Winning phone
When the hammer fell, as is normal, everyone in the room clapped and looked towards the member of staff who had been manning the winning phone.
The auction was held in the massive foyer of the Leica AG HQ building, and many of the attendees who were at the back started to discuss the result of the sale with great excitement. But the hardened veterans at the front wanted to get on to the next item on the agenda.
The 100th Leica
Regular auction attendees are an unsentimental bunch, and are used to seeing items knocked down and then moving on to the next item. In this case, it was the 100th production Leica I Model A SN 225 with an Anastigmat lens, which had been consigned by a British seller.
This sold for a world record for this type of camera — €132,000. It was straight back to business after the hoo-ha of No 112.
All the zeros
Another world record was broken later in the day — that for an M camera with the sale of M3 No 70000. This had been presented to Professor Stefan Kruckenhauser in 1955 in recognition of his pioneering work on Alpine photography.
It sold for €2,800,000 (€3,360,000 with premium). In this case, the M3 was not the ‘first one’, but it has the lowest serial number of any M camera. In my previous article, I recounted how I had bought Kruckenhauser’s Snow Canvas book for the princely sum of one pound, which now seems like a bargain.
Titanium Noctilux
An item which sold for a slightly more princely sum — four times the maximum estimate — was this Titanium version of the Noctilux f/0.95 50mm lens. My understanding is that this lens had been the subject of a timed no-resale contract which had just finished. Nevertheless, all the hallmarks of a ‘must-have-this’ auction battle were in place. The hammer price was €200,000, which increases to €240,000 with premium.
Bundeswehr green
Always popular at Leitz Auctions are the olive green Bundeswehr – West German Military — items. M4 models are notably desirable. This one was no exception, and it sold for €380,000 or €456,000 with premium.
The public amenity
I am always happy to see one of my favourite items being sold above estimate and, in this case, it was the Leitz Binplastico 30×90 Observation Binocular which sold for €36,000 or €43,200 with premium.
This splendid item was even more impressive ‘in the flesh’ and it came with a set of coins marked E Leitz Wetzlar for demonstrating the coin-operated feature for what was a public amenity.
The auction was its usual splendid self, see full results here, but it came on top of what was a truly memorable centenary for the Leica camera and Leica photography. The more than 800 guests came from over 50 countries. There were many wonderful events and presentations, and the team in Wetzlar excelled in organisation and hospitality.
Macfilos and the Swiss Roll
For me, the highlight was the appearance of my Swiss photos story for Macfilos in the official 100 Stories for 100 Years of Leica book. Interestingly, this has a connection with the auction because the film cassette came to me from an auction. More than likely it was from Westlicht, the original name of the Leitz Auction.
It was a great few days in Wetzlar and I met many friends, both old and new, which is undoubtedly the most important aspect of such events.
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Very nice summary, thanks William. I am looking forward to the book when the English language edition is out later this month.
Looking at videos of the total event now on-line it was certainly quite an extravaganza, and apart from the Leica people and presenters the only faces I recognised were you and Ivor!
Thanks, Keith. The editing on the main video makes the event seem a lot more frenetic than it actually was. With 800 people in attendance I was expecting the mother and father of a bunfight, but the whole thing was a calm affair and very well organised by the team in Wetzlar. I attended about 13 events and presentations over 3 days and I was none the worse for the wear. I did have relatively early nights. There were reports of people in bars until 3 or 4 am, but my days of doing that are long since over.
One of the high points for me was meeting Peter Loy and his father John. They were not at the 100th Anniversary, just over for the auction, but I always enjoy their company no matter where I meet them.
William