The 47th Leitz Auction, which takes place on 22nd November 2025, contains ‘all kinds of everything’, including items from the Pope and the dreaded Stasi (Staatssicherheitsdienst) in the former Communist East Germany — which is probably as wide a provenance gap as one might imagine.
Pure Luxus
As usual, there are many items from the fabled history of Leitz/Leica, and our first example falls into that category. This is a rare Leica I Model A Luxus outfit with gold plating and red lizard skin covering instead of vulcanite. All the metal parts are gold-plated, even the FINOT cable release and the FOFER rangefinder. Only 95 such cameras were made and it ranks as being extremely rare.
What really makes this set stand out are the rare and fully matched Leitz 3×20 Luxus binoculars, perfectly suitable for a night at the Berlin Opera.
This particular set is recorded as having been delivered on several occasions, including as a Reisemuster — travelling sample — to the famous Leica representative Anton Baumann, who was the author of an early book on colour photography called Das farbige Leica-Buch.
This is an extremely rare set which is likely to fetch a high price.
Lot No 7 — Start Price €180,000 — Estimated Range €300,000–360,000
Spy camera
I mentioned the Stasi and this next item is from the Cold War period, but it comes from the western side of the Iron Curtain, where it was intended for use by the Bundesnachrichtendienst, the Federal German security services.
This is a Leica If Spy prototype which was being developed around 1955. It has a taking lens built into the top plate and a fake lens on the front of the camera. The taking lens is connected to the film plane via an internal mirror system. This allowed the photographer to point the camera in the ‘wrong direction’ and still obtain a photograph of the intended target. This is a unique one-off prototype which never achieved series production.
Lot No 129 — Start Price €80,000 — Estimated Range €150,000-200,000
Quirky M3
Maintaining the Cold War theme, this is a Leica M3 from 1957 which has been engraved, probably much later, with space motifs and is covered with red vulcanite. No provenance is given for the engraving, but 1957 means something to me, for I remember as a child standing in my garden with some neighbours waiting for the Sputnik I satellite to fly over. I would describe this as a quirky item which might just attract several bidders.
Lot No 129 — Start Price €6,000 — Estimated Range €12,000-14,000
Leica fit for a Queen
I have mentioned the Pope and Communism, but we also have British royalty in this auction. In October 1958, Queen Elizabeth II was on a State Visit to Germany and was given a Leica M3 by Theodor Heuss, the President of the Federal Republic of Germany.
This is not the actual camera presented, but it is rather the backup unit, made alongside the original and retained in the factory in case a replacement was needed. The camera comes with a 50mm Leitz Summicron DR (Dual Range, but without the goggles) with no serial number, which may have been a prototype or pre-production example. The Queen’s name is engraved on the base as ‘Elisabeth’, which is the German spelling.
Lot No 130 — Start Price €70,000 — Estimated Range €90,000 – 120,000
MP looks like an M3
The Leica MP cameras had a fascinating genesis, which was described in detail by Lars Netopil at our recent Leica Society International (LSI) Conference in Montreal. In short, they resulted from demands from Magnum and other professional photographers, such as Alfred Eisenstaedt and David Douglas Duncan, for an M camera which could use a Leicavit winder such as those available for the Leica LTM models.
They looked like the Leica M3 but, because of the winding mechanism, they could not at that time have a self-resetting frame counter. So a counter similar to that on the later M2 was used. Because of their rarity (only 402 were made) and often because of their provenance with well-known photographers, the MP fetches very high prices, notwithstanding considerable patina on the black paint models.
In this case, the camera MP 114, which comes with a 50mm f/2 Leitz Summicron lens and a Leicavit winder, has been in the possession of US photographer Frank Dyra and his family since 1959.
Lot No. 140 — Start Price €400,000 — Estimated Range €700,000-800,000
LHSA Special
As I have recently been appointed as President of Leica Society International (LSI), formerly known as the Leica Historical Society of America (LHSA), I feel duty bound to cover this LHSA Special Edition from 2005.
This is a Leica MP3 set in glossy black paint, which comes with a 50 mm f/1.4 Leica Summilux lens and a Leicavit winder in the original maker’s box with all the trimmings. The MP3 is basically very similar to the previously described MP. However, despite not achieving the same price levels, they have been strong in the market in recent times.
Lot No 207 — Start Price €20,000 — Estimated Range €40,000-50,000
Leica fit for a Pope
I never knew that Pope Francis had a Leica until this auction catalogue appeared. It appears that the lovely white-and-chrome Leica M-A with a Leica 50mm f/1.2 Noctilux lens was presented to him in 2024, just before his death, and the camera is engraved with the year in Roman numerals, AD MMXXIV.
The camera has the special Serial Number 5000000, which is interesting for me, as I recently acquired a Leica IIIf BD with the Serial Number 555000. The lens hood is engraved with the Vatican coat of arms, and the familiar crossed keys motif is on the hot shoe cover.
On the rear top right, the Pope’s motto in Latin Miserando atque eligendo is engraved. This translates as ‘lowly but chosen’ [Ed: Could this also describe your recent elevation to higher office, William?].
Back in the 1960s I learnt classical Latin in school, and I was also an altar boy, for which I had to master phrases in church (ecclesiastical) Latin. In essence, this was a dialogue between the priest and the altar boys, as the congregation did not join in. I never thought that I would see Latin on a Leica, though. The camera also comes in a lovely white presentation box.
The current Pope has asked that the proceeds of this sale should go to people in need, and there will be no additional charges or premiums applied to the sale price. This sale has attracted much interest, and the estimated range has already been exceeded.
Lot No 211 — Start Price €75,000 (after 8 bids already) — Estimated Range €60,000-70,000
Shades of grey
Possibly, the nicest looking camera in the auction is this lovely grey-paint M2. It was produced in 1960 as part of a batch of 20 for the United States Air Force in Europe (USAFE). The cameras were delivered to Wiesbaden on 9 June 1960. This extremely rare camera comes with a fine 50mm f/2 Leitz Rigid Summicron lens.
This is a lovely item. I really like my wartime IIIc and IIIcK grey paint cameras, but this one is way outside my affordability range, given its rarity.
Lot No 279 — Start Price €400,000 — Estimated Range €700,000-800,000
250 lookalike
At a quick glance, the next item could be mistaken for the famed Leica 250 series, yet it predates the very first production Leica cameras, which were sold from 1925 onwards. This is the Seischab Esco from 1922, which could produce up to 400 17×24mm images on 35mm film.
It has a 3.5cm f/3.5 Cassar lens in a dial-set Compur shutter. The camera was made by Otto Seischab in Nuremberg. However, I am certain that Oskar Barnack must have seen this camera before designing and making his 250 model.
This is an important historic camera which comes with two film spools. The control knobs on the top are also ‘Leica like’ or should that be the other way around? The frame counter is numbered up to 392.
Lot No 416 — Start Price €10,000 — Estimated Range €20,000-24,000
Under the hammer…
Now for the Communists. The first one is a Soviet GOI FS-2 Foto Sniper produced for the Soviet Army around 1943. It is based on a FED body with a GOI 300 mm f/4.4 lens mounted on a rifle type stock.
The lens is mounted on a large mirror housing, which is attached to the camera via a quick release plate. The mirror housing gives an enlarged view of the subject. All of this comes in a large wooden carrying case.
Lot No 503 — Start Price €26,000 — Estimated Range €34,000-38,000
…and sickle
The second Communist item is this cigarette packet spy photography device, with a compact Tessina camera from capitalist Switzerland inside. It was produced for the East German Intelligence, our old friends the Stasi. The camera produced 14 x21mm frame images on 35mm film. This rare item is bound to attract a lot of interest, and there have been six bids already.
Lot No 521 — Start Price (after 6 bids already) €4,000 — Estimated Range €4,000-5,000
The auction catalogue is here and the auction itself commences on Saturday, 22 November at 10am Central European Time.
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