Doctor Geimer of Bamberg's state of the art Leica II and 5cm Hektor f2.5

[mediumformula]

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Many of you here will be pleased to know that I have recently come under the possession of our late dear friend and fellow photography enthusiast from the great city of Bamburg,  Doctor Geimer's Leica II and 5cm Hektor 2.5 lens.  As most of you are acutely aware, Dr. Geimer was meticulous about his things and as such this camera and lens come to me in the most pristine condition.  How he kept his camera in such a state during his well documented expeditions is beyond me.  It is also of no surprise that due to Dr. Geimer's well established impeccable taste that he only paired his Leica II with the state of the art 5cm Hektor lens with a blazingly fast aperture of f2.5.  Anything less would have been impractical for his daring weekend adventures as I am sure you can immagine.  Not to mention, a man of Dr. Geimer's calibre would never deign to toy with a simple and pedestrian Elmar lens affixed to his beloved Leica.  That would have been unbefitting to the doctor.  I want to assure you all that Dr. Geimer's camera will be well taken care of and appreciated under its new ownership.  While Dr. Geimer's death was untimely and perhaps shrouded in a bit of mystery, I took it personally upon myself to ensure that this most dear possession of the late doctor's estate would not fall into ill hands and disrepair.  As such I will be the proud steward of this camera system in the doctor's stead and have every intention to treat it with the dignity and respect that was bestowed upon it during Dr. Geimer's long and fruitful life.    

I'm about to send it out to get a CLA and new beam splitter.  I'm hoping that it returns as a very usable camera so that it may serve me as it did so faithfully during Dr. Geimer's tenure.  It has its original vulcanite on it and I had thought about replacing it with natural black leather.  I did this to my IIIf and it really improved the feel, grip and look of the camera to me and actually makes me want to use the camera to shoot with even more.  However, someone suggested to me that it would be a shame to alter an otherwise original condition antique Leica II by replacing the original vulcanite.  What are your thoughts? I don't want to do anything that Dr. Geimer would have thought to be unbefitting such a prized photographic instrument. To put it bluntly, I want to make Dr. Geimer proud.  Photo of camera in question below. 

 

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[romanus53]

Great lens and great camera although I do not share your (or Dr. Geimers) opinion on Elmar which is not pedestrian. We all know that Vulkanit has it flaws when it gets old and sometimes a replacement might be the better solution. (Personally I prefer the sharkskin coverage). But as long as it works - means in place I would not change anything as I didn't hesitate to rip off the last traces of Vulkanit and replace it with somethin new on my Leicas when necessary. Give him the cla and repair needed, try it out, enjoy and decide on the Vulkanit later.

Edited February 2, 2022 by romanus53

[pippy]

Congratulations on your appointment as Custodian of the Camera.

I'd say if the Vulcanite is whole then leave it as-is. The more things you change the further the camera will be removed from being the Leica once-owned by Dr. Geier and will become merely just another s/h Leca II.

Philip.

Edited February 2, 2022 by pippy

[willeica]

8 hours ago, mediumformula said:

Many of you here will be pleased to know that I have recently come under the possession of our late dear friend and fellow photography enthusiast from the great city of Bamburg,  Doctor Geimer's Leica II and 5cm Hektor 2.5 lens.  As most of you are acutely aware, Dr. Geimer was meticulous about his things and as such this camera and lens come to me in the most pristine condition.  How he kept his camera in such a state during his well documented expeditions is beyond me.  It is also of no surprise that due to Dr. Geimer's well established impeccable taste that he only paired his Leica II with the state of the art 5cm Hektor lens with a blazingly fast aperture of f2.5.  Anything less would have been impractical for his daring weekend adventures as I am sure you can immagine.  Not to mention, a man of Dr. Geimer's calibre would never deign to toy with a simple and pedestrian Elmar lens affixed to his beloved Leica.  That would have been unbefitting to the doctor.  I want to assure you all that Dr. Geimer's camera will be well taken care of and appreciated under its new ownership.  While Dr. Geimer's death was untimely and perhaps shrouded in a bit of mystery, I took it personally upon myself to ensure that this most dear possession of the late doctor's estate would not fall into ill hands and disrepair.  As such I will be the proud steward of this camera system in the doctor's stead and have every intention to treat it with the dignity and respect that was bestowed upon it during Dr. Geimer's long and fruitful life.    

I'm about to send it out to get a CLA and new beam splitter.  I'm hoping that it returns as a very usable camera so that it may serve me as it did so faithfully during Dr. Geimer's tenure.  It has its original vulcanite on it and I had thought about replacing it with natural black leather.  I did this to my IIIf and it really improved the feel, grip and look of the camera to me and actually makes me want to use the camera to shoot with even more.  However, someone suggested to me that it would be a shame to alter an otherwise original condition antique Leica II by replacing the original vulcanite.  What are your thoughts? I don't want to do anything that Dr. Geimer would have thought to be unbefitting such a prized photographic instrument. To put it bluntly, I want to make Dr. Geimer proud.  Photo of camera in question below. 

 

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I presume that some of this is 'tongue in cheek', particularly the alleged disparaging of the Elmar, the 'lens that made Leica'. In my experience Elmars are more consistent performers than Hektors. Hektors cost more today because they are more rare.

I have checked on Dr Geimer of Bamberg and I find that there are currently two Dr Geimers in Bamberg, one a Dentist and the other an Osteopath. There is no online about photography or 'expeditions' by a Dr Geimer. I'm a collector and a user, but, as I have collected many cameras, I have no shortage of cameras to use.  As a collector, I would do nothing with this camera other than having it serviced. As a user, I probably would not do anything either as it seems to be pretty 'perfect' for its age. It is a matter for you to decide as the camera is your property.

The other issue is concerning how valuable the provenance is to you. I have a number of items which have some kind of marking, including this one formerly owned by Stig Wennerth, a Forester from Malmo. The scratching is also over the name of Stig Wennerth, which leads me to believe that the camera may have been stolen and recovered and then re-engraved.

When I got this camera from LP Auction I did some research on Stig and found that he had been a senior person in Forestry Management in Malmo for many years. He had a better known older brother called Sven who was a renowned and internationally known lawyer. I found a photograph of Sven's wedding and I believe I have identified Stig in that. That photo was probably taken with a large format camera by a local professional photographer in Malmo. I have not done anything with this camera. I already had another II Model D with a Hektor anyway and since buying this one I have added a chrome Hektor and an 11 O'Clock Hektor (came on a I Model C) to my collection.

I have several other cameras where I have some provenance, but the one where I have actual photos, which I can associate with a cassette and possibly with a camera, is this one.

I still have not found who the people in the photographs were or associated them with a particular one of the 'suspect' cameras in my collection. In the course of my research on this I found that one of my cameras, a Leica IIIa, was at an event in Sweden on 2 June 1935 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the publication of Systema Naturae, a seminal work on botany by Carl Linnaeus. A translation of the writing in Swedish inside the lid of the Leica box which came with the camera indicated that the camera and its owner were at that event on 2 June 1935 and also that the owner of the camera seemed to have an interest in botany and had visited several gardens in other countries with the camera. I have traced a photograph of the Swedish Crown Prince at that event in 1935 which was taken by a botanist. Could it have been taken with the camera which I now own?

All this is by way of saying that with a marked camera like this, you can, of course, use it to take photographs with it, but if I acquired it I would be trying to find out how the camera was used and what it has 'seen' and maybe some photographs taken 'in period' with the camera.

These are just suggestions and you may not be interested in this kind of thing.

William

 

 

 

Edited February 2, 2022 by willeica

[Rona!d]

Congratulations, nice piece of history although I don´t agree about the "pedestrian" Elmar (my IIIa is married with an early Summar but I would also like it with an Elmar).

IF you consider getting rid of the Vulcanite which still looks fine to me (nearly too good to be true!), you could also consider pink tinted ostrich leather and replacing the Hektor by a special edition custom made latest Apo-Summilux 😉

It´s your camera but not your only one, so you already have a leather screwmount. Be a true custodian of Dr. Geimers good care.

[mediumformula]

I'll never forget the advice Dr. Geimer once gave me when I was doubting myself in the face of a challenging situation.  He stated, "There are two types of men in this world, Hektors and Elmars... Be a Hektor."   Dr. Geimer was most defiantly a "Hektor" and that's how I shall forever remember him.  

[luigi bertolotti]

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limerick_(poetry)

There was a real expert on lenses

Who liked a lot some nonsenses

"The Elmar is shit !

go Hektor and quit !"

but Berek couldn't bear such offences...

😄

 

 

[Shac]

I've got to ask, as I searched from this mysterious Dr. Geimer of Bamburg - who is he and is there documention of his "exploits"?

[LocalHero1953]

I have to admit my first thought was that the OP was posting tongue in cheek. Having bought a camera and lens with an interesting engraving, did he/she invent a story and relationship to tease us, and see how long they could keep the story going? If so, well done! But I apologise if I have misread their post.

I too would like to know more about Dr Geimer's exploits and his mysterious death - real or imagined.

Edited February 3, 2022 by LocalHero1953

[Shac]

6 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

I have to admit my first thought was that the OP was posting tongue in cheek. Having bought a camera and lens with an interesting engraving, did he/she invent a story and relationship to tease us, and see how long they could keep the story going? If so, well done! But I apologise if I have misread their post.

I too would like to know more about Dr Geimer's exploits and his mysterious death - real or imagined.

Must admit I wondered that to at first. Maybe we will find out

[PG Black nickel]

Bonjour à tous, 
Dr Geimer's personality did not reach France, maybe someone could tell us more about this great Leica user...
The most famous personality in Bamberg is Pope Clement II!

[jankap]

There is Peter Geimer in Berlin, who has to do with photography.

[LocalHero1953]

4 hours ago, jankap said:

There is Peter Geimer in Berlin, who has to do with photography.

Is he alive?

[Rona!d]

Am 3.2.2022 um 17:31 schrieb mediumformula:

I'll never forget the advice Dr. Geimer once gave me when I was doubting myself in the face of a challenging situation.  He stated, "There are two types of men in this world, Hektors and Elmars... Be a Hektor."   Dr. Geimer was most defiantly a "Hektor" and that's how I shall forever remember him.  

I´ll never forget the advice Dr. Geimer once gave me when I was doubting my choice of camera leather. He stated, "There are two types of camera leather in this world, Vulcanite and true leather... Be a proud owner of a true leather camera."

[Al Brown]

On 2/2/2022 at 3:22 AM, mediumformula said:

Many of you here will be pleased to know that I have recently come under the possession of our late dear friend and fellow photography enthusiast from the great city of Bamburg,

You misspelled the engraved city BAMBERG from the lens.
This does read as a Wes Anderson movie script though.

[Anbaric]

On 2/2/2022 at 2:22 AM, mediumformula said:

However, someone suggested to me that it would be a shame to alter an otherwise original condition antique Leica II by replacing the original vulcanite.  What are your thoughts? I don't want to do anything that Dr. Geimer would have thought to be unbefitting such a prized photographic instrument.

My own inclination would be to leave the original Vulcanite well alone. Indeed, it would be a privilege to hold in one's hands a camera covered in the same material that Dr. Geimer must once have gripped in excitement as he captured the remarkable events of the Second Expedition. Even more intriguing, perhaps, is the thought that this camera would also have documented the little-known Fourth Expedition, of which Dr. Geimer always remained singularly taciturn. While some of the more outlandish speculation about his discoveries on this occasion can perhaps be dismissed as scarcely credible, attesting more to the overactive imaginations of Geimer scholars than to the established principles of Science, it is notable that all requests to unseal the relevant archive have been politely but firmly refused by the Otto-Friedrich-Universität, Bamberg.

[sabears]

The Importance of Being... Geimer, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People...🥸

[250swb]

3 hours ago, Anbaric said:

My own inclination would be to leave the original Vulcanite well alone. 

Looking at the meagre evidence and garbled testimony of the deranged survivors of the fourth expedition it suggests the map could indeed be hidden underneath the vulcanite, a place so sacrosanct that the body itself would be torn apart in the search before harming 'the hide of the devil'. Unfortunately this may mean it is only future generations that have access to the map as the vulcanite crumbles and the location is revealed.

[mediumformula]

31 minutes ago, 250swb said:

Looking at the meagre evidence and garbled testimony of the deranged survivors of the fourth expedition it suggests the map could indeed be hidden underneath the vulcanite, a place so sacrosanct that the body itself would be torn apart in the search before harming 'the hide of the devil'. Unfortunately this may mean it is only future generations that have access to the map as the vulcanite crumbles and the location is revealed.

Interesting hypothesis.  Strangely enough, Dr. Geimer's last word on his deathbed was, "vulcanite", as his firm grip on the 5cm Hektor lens he was cradling softened and it fell to the ground.   A local reporter has been searching for the meaning of that utterance ever sense.  If only we could see the things that Hektor lens has seen.  

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Hallo,

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[mediumformula]

 

I imagine many of you have been wondering what ever happened to Dr. Geimer's famed Leica II. I thought I would give a brief update.  I sent the camera out to get a CLA and a new beam splitter.  The rangefinder is much improved.  I also did the unthinkable - I replaced the original vulcanite with a black leather wrap.  I think Dr. Geimer would have approved of this modification.  So as not to stray too far from the camera's heritage I used a piece of leather taken from the brain tanned hide of a wildebeest that Dr. Geimer speared in a persistence hunt while living with the Himba tribe in Nambia in the mid 1930s.  As another nice personal Geimer touch, I carved a decorative cold shoe cover out of a piece of walrus tusk that was among the items brought back by Dr. Geimer during his second expedition to the arctic.   It is highly possible that this is the same walrus tusk that Dr. Geimer reportedly used to fend off a polar bear attack on the expedition's encampment outside of Utqiagvik.   Notably, this Leica II was present with Dr. Geimer during all of these  experiences.   It is a real honor to have this once cherished photographic piece of art in my possession.  

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Edited October 31, 2022 by mediumformula