tranquilo67 Posted February 25, 2019 Share #1 Posted February 25, 2019 Advertisement (gone after registration) Good morning, I want to share with you the new addition to my humble collection. It's a wartime (stepper) Leica IIIc serial 387031 that has unfortunately gone thru some aesthetic modifications including black painting and re-cover. Leica has already confirmed that this camera was sent to the Spanish Embassy in Berlin, under special order, in Sept. 1942 and that, neither the paint nor the body cover, are original. As per some conversations with a wartime specialist, it seems that a Leica exported to neutral country in such dates is for sure interesting, and it looks like the modifications were done right after the war. Anyway, I see some charm in it. Despite the paint is not original, it's old enough to give her some special and quite unique look and it talks about her (not exactly quiet) life. I'm in the process of understanding until which point I like to keep her as it is currently or not. I've already ordered an original IIIc eyepiece and I'm not sure about the cover. I'll keep for sure the black paint as it is. The only part that it's still a bit unclear to me is the base plate. It's clearly an export base plate with english-german which can be done to the fact of being sent to another country or being part of the modification. Inside, the base plate is painted in normal black (like my 1933 Leica III) and not with the black rugged anti-reflection like my other late wartime IIIc. And it also has a "B" stamped in the metal (or should I say carved?) in the inner of that base plate. Any comment suggestion will be appreciated. On top of that I must say that I've got her for literally near to nothing (so we're not talking about being cheated by a seller) and it's working properly (pending to shot a roll). Any comment is, of course, welcome. And now, some pictures: 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! 1 1 Quote 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/294641-an-ugly-duck-black-repainted-wartime-iiic-edited/?do=findComment&comment=3690580'>More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted February 25, 2019 Posted February 25, 2019 Hi tranquilo67, Take a look here An ugly duck : Black repainted wartime IIIc ( edited ). I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Pecole Posted February 25, 2019 Share #2 Posted February 25, 2019 There are also black Leica IIIc "nice ducks", like the amazing set I discovered by chance in an ETGUS leather fitted outfit case : a black painted post-war Leica IIIc nº 509174, looking genuinely produced as such by Leitz (perhaps on special order) - despite what is said by Lager - with Summitar 50, Elmar 35 and 90 and Hektor 135, the two last black as well. There was also a VIOOH viewfinder, FIKUS, FOOKH and SOOPD hoods, four A36 filters (black) and four screw-in for Summitar, and three film containers. A marvel...except for the tiny, and fortunately nearly invisible flash socket added on the front. 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! 2 1 Quote 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/294641-an-ugly-duck-black-repainted-wartime-iiic-edited/?do=findComment&comment=3690607'>More sharing options...
Pecole Posted February 26, 2019 Share #3 Posted February 26, 2019 Next to the ones I published under the " " thread, I found some more BW photos of mu black paint Leica IIIc nº 509174. here are they. One sees well the tiny flash socket added on the lower front of the body. 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! 1 Quote 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/294641-an-ugly-duck-black-repainted-wartime-iiic-edited/?do=findComment&comment=3691250'>More sharing options...
Pecole Posted February 26, 2019 Share #4 Posted February 26, 2019 Sorry : I should have re-read my text before pushing on "Submit" : it is under the tranquilo67's thread "An ugly duck : Black repainted wartime IIIc" that I already published color images of my black IIIc set. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
willeica Posted February 26, 2019 Share #5 Posted February 26, 2019 Tranquilo's example is indeed from 1942. At around that time Leica was running short of material to do chrome work and switched to grey paint models for a period, but it seems that , in this case, the black paint did not come from Leica. I have various things written or scratched on baseplates. My CLA man says that these are often to identify the owner or 'owner body' ( to which the baseplate belongs). In this case it might also be for 'Berlin' or just 'black' and was put in while the camera was being worked on for the black paint. Pierre's camera is from 1950 and it would have been made towards the end of the production run of 'c' models just before the 'f BD' models were introduced. If the black paint job was done by Leica it would have definitely been a special order, but the flash sync looks like a 'non Leica' job. Leica was offering upgrades to the 'f' models for quite a few years after 1950. I recently found out that two of my sharkskin 'c' models from 1949 were upgraded to 'f BD' in 1954 and 1956 respectively. It seems somewhat strange that the owner of this camera did not opt for such an upgrade, given how complete a set it came with. William 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pecole Posted February 26, 2019 Share #6 Posted February 26, 2019 Thank you, William. I showed the camera to an official Leica dealer in Brussels, and it is him who told me that the paint seemed to be original, and was probably made on special order. He also confirmed that the flash socket had been installed later, and told me that the set had necessarily been assembled apart of the buy of the camera, some of the lenses (notably the 90 and 135 mm) being from earlier production. The Leica IIIf only became available in Belgium at the end of 1950, and the first serials this dealer received were in the 570xxx series. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc_braconi Posted February 26, 2019 Share #7 Posted February 26, 2019 Advertisement (gone after registration) Pierre, j'ai déplacé vos post au bon endroit 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.