Patton's Leica: A really NEGLECTED historic piece

[SteveLundin]

I recently visited the Patton Museum in Ft. Knox, KY - only to find, tucked away in the bottom of a display case, the very same Leica II (or whatever model it was) that Patton carried throughout WWII. His lenses were also there. The winding mechanisms were showing the green corrosion of neglect. I would have to say the significance of this beautiful black camera was lost on 99% of the people walking through the room - and 100% of the staff. This camera belongs in another museum - one that will take care of it and display it for what it really is - not a dejected castoff in the bottom of a case, lost amongst binoculars, clothing items and the other detritus of Patton's travel bags. I would like to start a petition drive - collect names to send to the museum and the Patton family to move this item to the Smithsonian where it belongs. Ironically the book that they were trying to sell at the museum store was - Patton's war photos! Who is with me here? Steve in Chicago

[flatfour]

Good idea Steve. It must have taken some formidable pictures.

[SteveLundin]

And many of them are in his book

[uwe zankl]

Hello

Just fell across this post...are there any pictures of Patton's Leica? I am very interested in WWII and a Leica that belongs to one of it's most famous generals would be great to have a picture of at least. Has the camera meanwhile be rescued?

thanks
Uwe

[biglouis]

Steve

Fascinating story. I'm not a US citizen but I'll gladly add my name - in fact, support from the wider international community might add legitimacy to the request.

LouisB

[luigi bertolotti]

Me too not a US citizen... but endorse at all the idea... a piece of history that has surely taken historical moments deserves a different treatment, not counting the fact that such an item, if certified in due manner, would bring in the range of tens of thousand$ at an auction...

[zeitz]

Is there a camera museum in the US worthy of this object? The Museum at Miami University in Oxford, OH, is no longer open; I called this past summer and tried to get in. The Smithonian's collection (the largest in the US) is totally unavailable for anyone to see. What happened to Bingham's Leica's as the California Museum of Photography at U Cal Riverside? (Bingham founded the place as I understand it and left his Leica collection to the museum.) I have not been to George Eastman House in Rochester. Does anyone know of any decent camera museums in the US?

[jhild]

At the time of WWII a Leica was an enemy made camera, was there nothing at least
similar made in USA? What would general people say if they would find out their war
hero was using a German camera? This might be the reason to place it just somewhere...

Jo

[luigi bertolotti]

Originally Posted by jhild

At the time of WWII a Leica was an enemy made camera, was there nothing at least
similar made in USA? What would general people say if they would find out their war
hero was using a German camera? This might be the reason to place it just somewhere...

Jo

Can be an interesting point... but I suppose that the Patton Museum has been setup years after than Germany ceased to be an enemy for US.
BTW, there really was an US made camera someway comparable to Leica... the Kodak Ektra... but it was introduced in 1941... probably Patton was already on duty and hadn't time to shopping for one

[xjr]

Contact the LHSA

[bill]

Originally Posted by jhild

At the time of WWII a Leica was an enemy made camera, was there nothing at least
similar made in USA? What would general people say if they would find out their war
hero was using a German camera? This might be the reason to place it just somewhere...

Jo

I recall that the British Army photographic unit used Zeiss Ikon folders. There was nothing unusual in this, they just used the best equipment they could lay hands on. There was coverage of this in the recent series of "Whicker's War" - Whicker himself used one. I also recall (vaguely) that highly prized German photographic equipment (Zeiss, Leitz) was bought in neutral Switzerland and shipped out for Allied use.

Regards,

Bill

[marbro]

Originally Posted by bill

I recall that the British Army photographic unit used Zeiss Ikon folders. There was nothing unusual in this, they just used the best equipment they could lay hands on. There was coverage of this in the recent series of "Whicker's War" - Whicker himself used one. I also recall (vaguely) that highly prized German photographic equipment (Zeiss, Leitz) was bought in neutral Switzerland and shipped out for Allied use.

Regards,

Bill

I have seen old wartime magazine ads where the British government and the RAF requested that civillian photographers sell or loan their Leicas to the military. In theory, they were to be returned at the end of the war.

[budrichard]

From Amazon.com: Patton's Photographs: War as He Saw It: Books: Kevin M. Hymel

"his Leica camera-standard issue for reporters and historians in the U.S. Army"

There is no way this camera will not stay in the Patton Museum nor does it belong anywhere else. It is not a symbol of Leitz memorabilia but a tool of the man who used it as cameras are supposed to be.-Dick

[Mountaineer-American]

Here is a photograph of Patton's Leica. Shot on Tri-X with M6 + 50mm Summicron, available light. Shot wide open with a dead slow shutter speed, handheld. The light was very bad. Regrets for the poor quality but you can get an eyeball on the item. If you ever get down there take a flash. They encourage photography in the museum but not elsewhere on post.

I was posted to Ft. Knox in 1971 & got back in 2004. I reckon the camera has been laying in the display case all that time. There are many more personal artifacts including his ivory-handled pistols, gunbelt & holsters, many of his decorations, the automobile in which he suffered his fatal accident, the truck that served as rolling HQ in the drive across France, elements from his participation in the Olympic Games (modern pentathlon if I recall correctly), much more. Some of the personal stuff is family-owned & loaned to the museum.

[Mountaineer-American]

Here is another photograph of Patton's Leica.

[bill]

Not wishing at all to detract from Steve's original post, but it seems to me that the issue here is not so much where Patton's Leica is displayed, as the state that it is in.

Instead of trying to get it moved to another museum, why don't we, the members of this Forum, club together to get it restored? There are some fine restorers in the US, I understand, who I am sure would be happy to work on this historic camera.

We would need to make contact with the curators of the museum - perhaps a US-based member can do that? Then we would need to gather the funds - say a pledge of ten dollars per interested member. I don't know how much a full CLA would cost in the US, but that too can be established without too much difficulty, surely?

In return, a simple plaque or note listing the names of the Leica Forum members who have contributed to the camera's restoration, displayed separately alongside the display case itself would surely not be too much to ask?

I would happily donate ten dollars to this worthy cause.

Thoughts?

Regards,

Bill

[storybrown]

I just saw this thread & would also donate toward the restoration of the Patton Leica, as I'm sure would many were the project (or this thread) brought to their attention.

[pgk]

Originally Posted by marbro

I have seen old wartime magazine ads where the British government and the RAF requested that civillian photographers sell or loan their Leicas to the military. In theory, they were to be returned at the end of the war.

When I was a student I worked part time in a well known London camera shop. The manager, who had worked in an allied photographic unit (at times behind enemy lines in Italy), told me that all the 'quality' German cameras that the shop had in stock had been requisitioned at the begining of the war for use by the British military. This included equipment by both Leica and Zeiss from what I remember.

[steich]

@steve:
Do you think the green corrosion has developed after the war- or is it a trace of Patton using his Leica in all kinds of weather? In the second case, I would consider it as patina and leave the camera as it is... but certainly in a better display.
Regards
Stefan

[Bernd Banken]

any restauration would scratch/polish/paint away history