Leica 250FF with interesting provenance

[dkCambridgeshire]

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A Leica 250FF with probable interesting provenance has been listed by a well known UK dealer

 

… and note the spare cassettes

 

MW Classic Cameras NEW ARRIVED 15th FEBRUARY - LEICA, LEICA COPY

 

http://www.mwclassic.com/acatalog/DE310L.jpg

 

If the camera is no longer listed it has been sold

 

The original owner appears to have been well known 20th C portrait photographer William Foster Brigham FRPS who apart from his studio work, operated a seaside 'walking pictures' business - which used Leica 250 cameras.

 

Snaps – Bridlington

 

I'm wondering if the Leica III with the flash contacts might also be a Brigham camera?

 

The Barkers Gt Yarmouth links on the RHS of the page also mention use of Leica 250 cameras used post war.

 

The above camera is very well used and unlikely to be a fake - unlike some seen at auction e.g. LEICA: 250 FF : Lot 26

 

Best wishes

 

dunk

Edited February 18, 2013 by dkpeterborough

[iphoenix]

unlikely to be a fake - unlike some seen at auction e.g. LEICA: 250 FF : Lot 26

I'm rather amused by that auction's lot 35, with an est. of $5000-10,000 and start at $2500. Gee, Russian stuff's gone up a lot??

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[luigi bertolotti]

Funny.. the fake one (but, as stated by Westlicht, a "well made" one ) has a s/n very close to the original one for sale at MW... : very interesting... I suppose it will find quickly a buyer...

[dkCambridgeshire]

Funny.. the fake one (but, as stated by Westlicht, a "well made" one ) has a s/n very close to the original one for sale at MW... : very interesting... I suppose it will find quickly a buyer...

 

A fake 250FF is likely to have a fake SN within the known production sequence. The wear on the MW offering looks to be consistent with years of use.

 

Here's a few more 'sold' examples:

 

http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/11315006_250-ff-sn-135609-1934

 

http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/11315008_250-ff-syn-sn-150101-1936

 

http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/11315007_250-ff-nickel-sn-150009-c1934

 

http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/6406661

 

 

dunk

Edited February 18, 2013 by dkpeterborough

[wlaidlaw]

If it is a fake, it is very well done. The retention of paint round the screws on the top cover and wear on the screws would be pretty difficult to reproduce. Unlike many UK auctioneers, MW classic should have the skill to recognise a fake and would leave themselves open to action if it later turned out that it was not genuine. Even if the shutter release is changed to a Leica style one, the absence of a roller on the RF coupling tab is the usual give away on Russian fakes. In this case however, given the value of a 250FF, I suppose you would start with a genuine model III as the donor camera.

 

Wilson

[dkCambridgeshire]

The neat 'BRIGHAM' engraving on the spare spool is consistent with the photographer's /owner's seaside 'walking pictures' business requiring several sets of such spools. The general wear on the camera is highly unlikely to have been faked. I'm intrigued by the film in the cassettes - is it exposed and if so might there be some salvageable images? UK seaside 'walking pictures' photographers were known to favour these cameras both pre and post war.

 

dunk

Edited February 18, 2013 by dkpeterborough

[wlaidlaw]

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The neat 'BRIGHAM' engraving on the spare spool is consistent with the photographer's /owner's seaside 'walking pictures' business requiring several sets of such spools. The general wear on the camera is highly unlikely to have been faked. I'm intrigued by the film in the cassettes - is it exposed and if so might there be some salvageable images? UK seaside 'walking pictures' photographers were known to favour these cameras both pre and post war.

 

dunk

 

Dunk,

 

If it is B&W film, something might well be salvageable, depending on how cool the storage has been (think about the photos salvaged from some of the early Antarctic expeditions, many years later). If it is colour, I would doubt if there would be much there.

 

I finally retrieved my M4 body from my Uncle in 2008, when he saw me using an M8 and started chatting about Leicas. He had been given it by my mother, when my parents moved house in 1971, after my father had a stroke and I had assumed it was lost/stolen in the move. My uncle was horrified that he had had my 21st present sitting in a drawer for all those years, my not knowing where it was. He had never used it, as there was no lens with it. I found a partially exposed Perutzchrome film sitting in the camera, with an expiry date of 1969. Sadly there were just vague shadows on it when I had it processed as Agfachrome (E4?) . I had hoped there would be some photos of my father, who as he was usually the photographer, there are very few photos.

 

Wilson

[dkCambridgeshire]

The 250FF and the spare cassettes must have been sold as have disappeared from the list ... within the last 30 minutes.

 

dunk