Leica Memorabilia

[dave.gt]

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The Leica Cave is in need of a few more pieces of vintage Memorabilia.😀

I am looking for a couple of cool items but not cameras or lenses. In the past I have seen really creative signs, marketing display items and such. Since my little Cave is painted the light green to match my M3 box and manual, and it is accented with colorful Kodak items, I would like to add even more 1950s items. My drawing table has taken up the space I had planned for a 50s Egg chair and boomerang table, so furniture is out.

Is there anyone else in this forum into their own personal Leica space? If so, I would like some ideas and resource links that you have found helpful.

Oh... and yes, I am bored!😎

Edited August 17, 2019 by dave.gt

[a.noctilux]

Dave,

Why not show us what your Leica Cave looks like ...

After that we may suggest some more ideas 😉.

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[dave.gt]

Good idea, except the cane is a mess while I am painting various rooms and reorganizing everything.

It is quite simple, though, anything interesting or cool would be of interest to me. A neon Leica light comes to mind. Various display stands, too, and then of course pins,  writing pens, watches.... the list is endless.

I passed on a wonderful rate display stand years ago that was offered to me by our local vintage camera shop. Regretting that still... LOL.

 

[a.noctilux]

This giant M3 would be my first,

but where I live now may not be compatible with it's size alone

 

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Seen some years ago in Paris (Opera)

the shop just opened since a couple of days

[ironringer]

Modern Leica mousepads, keychains, SD card wallets, lens display mounts, camera display stands, even black cloth shopping bags for backgrounds or shelf covers ... would these be too modern for your cave?

I acquired a group of these give-aways a couple of years ago and still must assemble them on my display shelves. Have extras available ...

Older items for the cave could include camera, lens and accessory boxes, sales pamphlets with nice illustrations, small catalogues, camera warranty tags ... these all look good.

[Hello]

4 hours ago, a.noctilux said:

This giant M3 would be my first,

but where I live now may not be compatible with it's size alone

 

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Seen some years ago in Paris (Opera)

the shop just opened since a couple of days

There's a couple different models of these on eBay right now...

I've run across a Nikon SP one in my travels and am currently trying to buy it. Hoping for the best.

Edited August 21, 2019 by Hello

[ropo54]

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You might look at Amazon for some clever T shirts to hang?  Perhaps more generic photography stuff, but worth a look. 

Rob

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Amazon.com- t shirts for photographers.webloc

Edited August 21, 2019 by ropo54

[willeica]

For the Kodak items, a set of Art Deco Brownies would look nice, particularly if you can get one of the expensive and rare pink ones, which go for more than some Leicas of the same vintage. Walter Dorwin Teague was the designer. I saw a set of those in the Victoria and Albert Museum last year, but even they could not rise to the pink one. I just have the most common black model and it sits on top of a cabinet full of Leicas.

William

Edited August 21, 2019 by willeica

[zeitz]

William, the Milwaukee Art Museum had a complete five color set of the Teague's Kodak Brownies on display.  It would be best to check with the Museum that they are still on display if someone were to make a special trip.  One would assume that the George Eastman House would have a complete set too, but they are definitely not on display as of one month ago.  A request to the curator would probably result in access to them.

Dave, you are doing better than either the George Eastman House or the Smithsonian.  It is debatable as to which one has the world's largest camera collection.  But over 99% of both collections are not on display and are kept in their mausoleums, I mean museum storage.  Proudly display your collection for your friends.

A decade ago I visited the California Museum of Photography in Riverside.  The curator gave me free and unsupervised access to their mausoleum, I mean storage shelves.  They held the Mead Kibbey Zeiss Ikon collection.  Every item was wrapped in archival paper and stuffed in cardboard boxes that seemed ordinary to me.

[alan mcfall]

Some lighted signs on one wall, the giant M3 on another.

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[willeica]

8 hours ago, zeitz said:

William, the Milwaukee Art Museum had a complete five color set of the Teague's Kodak Brownies on display.  It would be best to check with the Museum that they are still on display if someone were to make a special trip.  One would assume that the George Eastman House would have a complete set too, but they are definitely not on display as of one month ago.  A request to the curator would probably result in access to them.

Dave, you are doing better than either the George Eastman House or the Smithsonian.  It is debatable as to which one has the world's largest camera collection.  But over 99% of both collections are not on display and are kept in their mausoleums, I mean museum storage.  Proudly display your collection for your friends.

A decade ago I visited the California Museum of Photography in Riverside.  The curator gave me free and unsupervised access to their mausoleum, I mean storage shelves.  They held the Mead Kibbey Zeiss Ikon collection.  Every item was wrapped in archival paper and stuffed in cardboard boxes that seemed ordinary to me.

This is not uncommon. As well as Leica I also collect brass lenses made by the Grubbs in Dublin in the 19th Century. Apparently 10 such items were transferred from Bradford to the V&A and now sit in a warehouse in Swindon where nobody can see them. A friend who is an FRPS and knowledgeable about Grubb lenses asked to see them, but he was refused. I know that museums have resource issues but they should not refuse assistance from genuinely interested outside parties who may know more about the items than they do. A long way from 'man caves' and memorabilia, but seeing as you raised the issue ... etc. 

William

 

[willeica]

V&A Brownies. A set of these would decorate any man cave. I have the black Art Deco model shown here.

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This was taken in poor light with an M10 and a 35mm Summicron. The V&A guy on the floor wanted to discuss my M10, but I said I was more interested in discussing the Brownies. He knew nothing at all about them other than that they were Kodak Brownies.

William

Edited August 22, 2019 by willeica

[gyoung]

When I worked in a Leica dealers in the 60s (Montreal) we had some giant Kodak film boxes sent for display, the Super 8 one was about 50x50x20cms as I recall, when the shop had done with them I took them home and stuck them to a wall in a sort of modern art triptych.  We never had any giant Leicas though, just a couple if 'attrape' dummies and the usual red plastic camera stands.

Gerry 

[tranquilo67]

What about some ads from old yellowish newspapers?

My wife gifted me some of different sizes and time periods framed and, in my opinion they look nice.

 

[lykaman]

In the late 1950's my parents bought a newsagents/tobacconists shop/store in Tottenham, N London.. We lived above the shop. 2 sisters lived on the top floor they had been there for umpteen years, when we moved in they where in their mid 80's.. When they passed, we found a wall cupboard/closet filled from top to bottom with daily newspapers, dating back to WW1.. all old and yellowed.. fools that we were, we threw them out..

[farnz]

I recall that there were some truncated and display-mounted Leica lenses for sale on that online auction site some time ago.  These were the 28-35-50 Tri-Elmar lenses cut in half that would fit quite nicely into a man-cave particularly because of the astonishing complexity of the MATE's mechanism.  

I heard at the time that there were a number around because an apprentice lensmaker's final pass-out test was to make a MATE and since they couldn't be sold owing to potentially being inferior the Chief Engineer would bandsaw them in half and decide the apprentices' fate on how the interiors of the lenses looked.  I have no support for this and it sounds a little far-fetched but it makes a nice story.

Pete.

[kangaroo2012]

When I worked at Leica in Sydney, I was told by the senior technician that he made a cut away M3 as his final project. He kept it.

He also said that the UR Leica copies and a microscope stage for crystal analysis were also apprentice made projects.

What a sensible idea.

Cheers

Philip

 

[George Furst]

This is the first time that I heard from someone who actually talked to a Leica Technician who actually made a final graduation project while training at Wetzlar. I am familiar with the Leitz Microscope stage for doing mineral analysis and it is quite complex. It is a rotating stage and a condenser below and a Polaroid filter for observing the minerals for identification. I used a Leitz Polarizing Microscope both in graduate school and industry. I am also interested in the final UR Camera project. Do you have any idea when he made the cut away M3? I have always heard that the URs were made in the early 70s. Do you have any other information about this project? I am the person who took the UR and made it an operating camera. Any information would be appreciated.

[tamas]

My one and only classic Leica memorabilia is this treasured T shirt showing a Classic Leica that I'll never own. 

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Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[Kleinkamera]

On 8/21/2019 at 8:06 PM, alan mcfall said:

Some lighted signs on one wall, the giant M3 on another.

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A friend of mine has one of the giant M3 display units. I would love to have a screwmount body version.

One of those lighted "Leica Specialist" signs is listed in the upcoming Tamarkin auction, I believe.

- James