willeica Posted January 4, 2019 Share #41 Posted January 4, 2019 Advertisement (gone after registration) 8 minutes ago, tranquilo67 said: Sorry for stepping into the conversation, but it looks like there are unmatching Hektors both ways. I've just bought one serial number 156003 which in the lists usually appears as Chrom and apparently (pending to get it from Germany), it's a Nickel one. Best regards That is exactly what Jim Lager said to me and what I repeated above. Such lists should be treated with caution. In the early days Leica made a lot of variations and exceptions and the only way to confirm anything is to have the example in your hands. It takes some experience to spot such variations and whether an item is original or not. This is not helped by the amount of re-plating and repainting going on. As I said above, I try to avoid such items, but a lot of people seem to like this. When the Leica Museum and Archives are fully established we may have fuller information, but it is not yet clear how detailed the information available will be. William 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 4, 2019 Posted January 4, 2019 Hi willeica, Take a look here Black Leica iii's with Chrome. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Pyrogallol Posted June 20, 2019 Share #42 Posted June 20, 2019 On 1/2/2019 at 7:00 PM, wlaidlaw said: BTW if anyone has a Leica Model II or III, whose shutter release surround ring has managed to hide itself, NobbySparrow on eBay from Japan sells these at a reasonable cost. He was selling nickel or chrome at one point but I have a feeling it may be chrome only now. He also sells all sorts of useful Leica bits like the long stop screws for Elmars. https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/nobbysparrow Wilson I made a shutter release ring by cutting the top off one of those cable release adaptors that seem to be very common. The bottom threaded piece is almost identical to an original ring. Clean up the cut edge and put that down so the uncut edge is visible from the top. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrogallol Posted June 20, 2019 Share #43 Posted June 20, 2019 Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! I just bought a black 3 that has been repainted and rechromed. The question is whether it was originally black and chrome or black and nickel, or even all chrome. Someone might be able to tell me from the serial number? The paint and chrome look to be well done, but the serial number is very close to the accessory shoe, presumably the script and number have all been re-engraved after the repaint. Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! I just bought a black 3 that has been repainted and rechromed. The question is whether it was originally black and chrome or black and nickel, or even all chrome. Someone might be able to tell me from the serial number? The paint and chrome look to be well done, but the serial number is very close to the accessory shoe, presumably the script and number have all been re-engraved after the repaint. ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/280334-black-leica-iiis-with-chrome/?do=findComment&comment=3763355'>More sharing options...
Pyrogallol Posted June 20, 2019 Share #44 Posted June 20, 2019 Another picture of the repaint (I had to cut the picture down to make it small enough to upload). Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/280334-black-leica-iiis-with-chrome/?do=findComment&comment=3763360'>More sharing options...
willeica Posted June 20, 2019 Share #45 Posted June 20, 2019 (edited) I believe this camera, which is from 1934 per the SN, was originally chrome or black and nickel. Black and chrome only came later, perhaps from about 1936. I own SN 172472 from 1935 which is black with nickel fittings. It is shown in a photo above with two other black and nickel models. Black with chrome only came around the time that black and nickel was phased out. Here is a black with chrome III from my collection. It is SN 249442 from 1937 and it is a genuine original black and chrome camera, which came with the set shown below. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Your camera is very nice, but, as you say it has been worked on, it is obviously not in original condition. The sync socket is also an obvious later addition. I see that I posted this photo earlier in this thread (I plead age and time etc), but it fits here to emphasise the points I am making. William Edited June 20, 2019 by willeica 1 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Your camera is very nice, but, as you say it has been worked on, it is obviously not in original condition. The sync socket is also an obvious later addition. I see that I posted this photo earlier in this thread (I plead age and time etc), but it fits here to emphasise the points I am making. William ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/280334-black-leica-iiis-with-chrome/?do=findComment&comment=3763500'>More sharing options...
alan mcfall Posted June 21, 2019 Share #46 Posted June 21, 2019 Factory records, if correct, show that it was from a lot of 850 black and nickle cameras, 1934. You can change the accessory shoe to black, but the flash sync will probably have to remain. Look closely at the stop pin for the A--R lever, it looks nickle in the photo. Also, look at the baseplate retaining pin in the body shell. Often these two small parts were not chromed when cameras were converted from nickle to chrome. A nice looking camera. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrogallol Posted June 21, 2019 Share #47 Posted June 21, 2019 Advertisement (gone after registration) Yes, the rewind lever stop pin is probably nickel, it is difficult to tell but I think there is a little nickel left. The base plate pin has been painted a nice matt black. here is another picture of it, along side my two black 11’s. The earliest 90246 is black and nickel and the later 267987 black and chrome. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/280334-black-leica-iiis-with-chrome/?do=findComment&comment=3763653'>More sharing options...
willeica Posted June 21, 2019 Share #48 Posted June 21, 2019 2 hours ago, Pyrogallol said: Yes, the rewind lever stop pin is probably nickel, it is difficult to tell but I think there is a little nickel left. The base plate pin has been painted a nice matt black. here is another picture of it, along side my two black 11’s. The earliest 90246 is black and nickel and the later 267987 black and chrome. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! The white lettering on the black and chrome camera on the right above looks like it has been redone. My black and chrome example has the same lettering as is found on all of my 1930s black paint cameras (I have about 10 of them). I forget the technical term for this, but it is a light golden cover. Alan or Jerzy may have the correct term for this lettering. The camera on the left above has this lettering. This may have something to do with ageing, of course. All of my cameras are in original condition and, for my taste, I would never have any cosmetic work done on them. William Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted June 21, 2019 Share #49 Posted June 21, 2019 The original filling for old Leica engraving was a very low melting point substance (around 70ºC) called Wood's metal, an alloy of Bismuth, Lead, Tin and Cadmium. When I was at school, many years ago, we used to buy teaspoons made of this alloy by mail order from Ellisdon's Joke Emporium. They would melt when stirring a cup of tea. Given the toxic mix of metals, what could have happened if someone had subsequently drunk the tea, does not bear thinking about. Wilson 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
willeica Posted June 21, 2019 Share #50 Posted June 21, 2019 22 minutes ago, wlaidlaw said: The original filling for old Leica engraving was a very low melting point substance (around 70ºC) called Wood's metal, an alloy of Bismuth, Lead, Tin and Cadmium. When I was at school, many years ago, we used to buy teaspoons made of this alloy by mail order from Ellisdon's Joke Emporium. They would melt when stirring a cup of tea. Given the toxic mix of metals, what could have happened if someone had subsequently drunk the tea, does not bear thinking about. Wilson Thanks Wilson. That is the term I was trying to remember. I stand open to correction, but in my mind white painted lettering on black cameras came later, although the grey WWII models do have have white paint lettering. Does anyone have any idea about when the white paint lettering was introduced? As for chemistry labs in school, they usually got us out of there as soon as possible in case any of us would blow the place up or set the school on fire. I do have one abiding memory of being in a science lab during the Cuban Missile Crisis when our teacher said at the end of class " See you tomorrow, that is if there is a tomorrow". I was 13 at the time and it scared the bejaysus out of me. William 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrogallol Posted June 21, 2019 Share #51 Posted June 21, 2019 2 hours ago, willeica said: Thanks Wilson. That is the term I was trying to remember. I stand open to correction, but in my mind white painted lettering on black cameras came later, although the grey WWII models do have have white paint lettering. Does anyone have any idea about when the white paint lettering was introduced? As for chemistry labs in school, they usually got us out of there as soon as possible in case any of us would blow the place up or set the school on fire. I do have one abiding memory of being in a science lab during the Cuban Missile Crisis when our teacher said at the end of class " See you tomorrow, that is if there is a tomorrow". I was 13 at the time and it scared the bejaysus out of me. William Yes, I remember being at school and looking north when the deadline was coming. Norfolk had a lot of American airforce bases at the time and the big white flash would have come from that direction, followed by the mushroom cloud, but no one would have been at school to see it, and the school wouldn’t have been there ! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrogallol Posted June 21, 2019 Share #52 Posted June 21, 2019 4 hours ago, willeica said: The white lettering on the black and chrome camera on the right above looks like it has been redone. My black and chrome example has the same lettering as is found on all of my 1930s black paint cameras (I have about 10 of them). I forget the technical term for this, but it is a light golden cover. Alan or Jerzy may have the correct term for this lettering. The camera on the left above has this lettering. This may have something to do with ageing, of course. All of my cameras are in original condition and, for my taste, I would never have any cosmetic work done on them. William Yes, when the camera was serviced the white lettering was reinstated. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerzy Posted June 21, 2019 Share #53 Posted June 21, 2019 Black chrome III 293xxx which I saw recently had still Wismuth alloy, camera is from 1938. I suppose that in this year white paint has been introduced 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pebbles Posted June 30, 2020 Share #54 Posted June 30, 2020 I heard that one of the reasons for Leica dropping nickel was that they were learning that some people are allergic to the metal. Not so with chrome. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironringer Posted July 5, 2020 Share #55 Posted July 5, 2020 Interesting topic, and these old black enamel Leicas are beautiful, catching much attention whenever I use them in my travels (not recently, of course). I am not sure if my 1936 Leica III shown below has chrome or nickel fittings, and you experts (especially Jerzy) will advise. It sure takes excellent pictures with my 1954 "red scale" Elmar, and its shutter is a bit quieter with a smoother "trigger" release, compared to my Leica II Type D. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/280334-black-leica-iiis-with-chrome/?do=findComment&comment=4004123'>More sharing options...
LEitzRon Posted July 5, 2020 Share #56 Posted July 5, 2020 This latest post has alerted me to the fact that I did not thank the people who commented on my camera and the doubts that I was trying not to harbour! So to correct that, thank you very much. Slainthe from Scotland, Gordon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LEitzRon Posted July 5, 2020 Share #57 Posted July 5, 2020 Incidentally my user name is supposed to be a take on “lights are on”. Sometimes they are! Gordon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
willeica Posted July 5, 2020 Share #58 Posted July 5, 2020 1 hour ago, ironringer said: Interesting topic, and these old black enamel Leicas are beautiful, catching much attention whenever I use them in my travels (not recently, of course). I am not sure if my 1936 Leica III shown below has chrome or nickel fittings, and you experts (especially Jerzy) will advise. It sure takes excellent pictures with my 1954 "red scale" Elmar, and its shutter is a bit quieter with a smoother "trigger" release, compared to my Leica II Type D. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! From your photos it seems to be a camera with nickel 'furniture'. Photos can sometimes mislead, but the difference is obvious in the last photo with the chrome lens. Your camera is from 1936 which is towards the end of black and nickel production. Jerzy may have seen some production records which would confirm this. 'In the flesh' the difference between nickel and chrome is obvious. William Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick in CO Posted July 5, 2020 Share #59 Posted July 5, 2020 Just curious, heres a Leica II No 90737 in black with Elmar 143140 both from 1932. Original or re-paint, Nickel or Chrome? Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/280334-black-leica-iiis-with-chrome/?do=findComment&comment=4004277'>More sharing options...
willeica Posted July 5, 2020 Share #60 Posted July 5, 2020 37 minutes ago, Rick in CO said: Just curious, heres a Leica II No 90737 in black with Elmar 143140 both from 1932. Original or re-paint, Nickel or Chrome? Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Definitely nickel. Looks like a repaint or maybe just 'one careful owner', just joking about that. Personally, I prefer the original brassing to be still there. That lens barrel also looks like a re-nickel job too. I got a very nice II Model D with a bell push 11 O'Clock Elmar at auction a couple of years ago. It looked way too pristine for 86 years old when I finally got my hands on it. Personally, I prefer patina to pristine any day of the week. I know that some other collectors feel the same way. I would never get any item in my collection repainted or re-chromed or re-nickeled. This is just personal taste, of course. William Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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