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Engraving on Leica III official or not?


RasmusR

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Hello,

 

I bought this Leica III half a year ago. I'm a total newbie to the Leica world, so please bear with me if the questions are stupid :-)

 

The seller said he was a grandchild of Jac. Olsen, a Danish fashion designer in the 50's (who designed for the royal family: The Danish Monarchy - Collections - Amalienborg Museum)

 

There are engravings on the leather case, and in the bottom of the camera.

I think I saw an email-address to a Leica employee that could help with the history of a specific camera, but can't seem to find it.

 

Are these engraving homemade or official? Would it have any influence on the value?

 

leica1.jpg

 

leica2.jpg

 

leica3.jpg

 

leica4.jpg

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Basically Leica will engrave just about anything on a camera on request - in the past as well as now. The letters on the camera are not "Leica looking", but more like an own design. However, Leica may well have done the actual engraving, although a more usual place for a name was the back of the top of the camera, as a bottom could be replaced or switched. About the embossing of the case - I don't know. It looks like an interesting camera. If you can document the history it will certainly be worth a premium - at least in Denmark.

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My guess is that the owner had the camera and case marked up himself (or maybe it was a gift but again this was almost certainly not done by Leica).

 

Normally a personal engraving like this would be detrimental to the value of a camera, but if the owner was someone well known then it could have interest for a collector, or someone interested in the designer/fashion. The camera (a llla) and lens are common items and not of great value.

 

Best bet would be a specialist auction, or e bay.

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Hello RasmusR,

 

Welcome to the Forum.

 

Your Leica is a model III made in 1934 or so. The lens might have been made around the same time or a little later.

 

We cannot see from your picture whether the upper speed setting dial has a top speed of 500 but I think it probably does.

 

There may also have been a flash receptacle added in the back.

 

Leitz and others did updates of earlier models to later specifications @ least until recently. If they still do I do not Know.

 

Quite common in the 1950s though.

 

A nice camera whether updated or original.

 

The quality of the engraving is also quite nice. It adds something to the camera no matter who did it.

 

This may surprise you: It is most likely quite usable today as the 35mm film it used then is the same as still manufactured today. Quality of film is generally somewhat better today.

 

You can probably get pictures comparable in quality to pictures from a camera from today.

 

Because of the camera's age it is probably better to find an old Leica manual to learn with. Modern versions of the manual include sections on handling earlier models.

 

If you like, I'm sure any number of people on this forum would be glad to help you thru getting started.

 

Think about it.

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael

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Thanks for the replies :-)

 

I had the feeling the engraving on the bottom wasn't official, but the embossing in the leather casing made me wonder whether it was real.

 

Michael: Thanks for the info. I actually bought the camera for that exact reason (to shoot some B+W film with it), but have hardly used it. Therefore I was considering passing it on - but I still haven't decided :-)

 

Regards,

Rasmus

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Hello Rasmus,

 

I didn't say the engraving was not done by Leitz.

 

What I said was regardless of who did the engraving if it is as nicely done as it appears to be in the photo it adds to the value and should not be considered to be a detriment.

 

It may be done by Leitz. We don't know yet.

 

Part of what is going on is part of the World Of Leica. Collectors.

 

Collectors fall in many categories.

 

From those people who want things new, original & perfect w/ all the doo dads, to those people who actually use things, to those people who want things and don't particularily care about condition, etc.

 

If you have 5 people sit in the same chair and look @ the same apple they very often see 5 very different things.

 

Your Leica III (not IIIa) is an early one as is that configuration of the lens you have. The camera & lens both evolved from earlier similar manufestations. They both continued to evolve as time went on.

 

You can find out more about both as well as most things Leitz/Leica by clicking the "wiki" icon @ the top of this page.

 

Back to your camera + its engraving:

 

A Leica III is not especially rare or especially common.

 

If it were New New New or otherwise perfect then some engravings might be considered negative.

 

That is not the case here if Its quality is as high as it appears.

 

That having been said you might hear some disagreement from other Forum members.

 

There are people in the World who consider anything not in absolutely new condition perfect as so flawed as not to be considered.

 

I personally know a number of people outside of this Forum with that perspective.

 

They may well be a portion of the pool of people potentially interested in something but they are not everyone.

 

Historical significance to the side the engraving in its own right is very nice and adds because the camera itself is not in that market which requires original perfection to be considered.

 

It is in the market where value is a significant component in price.

 

The lettering is very nicely done. I think it is a style which came into vogue in the late 19th Century + was considered fashinable thru most of the 1930's.

 

That puts it into the time period 1934 easily.

 

Altho I think it was most popular from the very late 1890's thru the middle 1920's.

 

Having said that there is a good person to ask on this Forum.

 

BTW: You will continually be pleasantly surprised w/ the degree of expertise of contributors to this Forum whether you agree with all their conclusions or not. We are all very lucky to have this.

 

The person you should write to is Lars Bergquist. He knows a significant ammount about not only photography but also printing, lettering and many other fields.

 

He's very nice and often willing to help, as are most people on this Forum.

 

You can write to him by either seeing his name in red and clicking it or clicking the icon all the way to the left @ the top of this page about your settings.

 

Now to the historical consideration of the person involved: This may add something. It certainly won't subtract. Check w/ all sources you can think of. Remember much of what is involved with this type of research is people saying no or they don't know.

 

That is the field. Not you.

 

Remember to ask back here if you have questions.

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael

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