Leica III vulcanite

[Lance101]

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Found a Leica III at auction that has Red Snakeskin on it ?

is that normal ? It’s not a gold version, only chrome / silver color. Not shiney, just regular and it looks to be a real Leica with correct lens but the color although really neat seems to be driving the price way up for this older Camera. Thoughts on the cover or the after market effect of this flashy colored camera. Maybe beauty in the eye of the beholder is driving the price to double what it’s really worth… serial in the 116001-230000 range 1933

thanks

Lance

[andybarton]

12 minutes ago, Lance101 said:

is that normal ?

No. 

[Anbaric]

Various companies make replacement coverings pre-cut from leather or plastic, and you can have any colour you like (or if you're handy, you can cut your own). Unless this one has documented provenance that it left the factory that way in the 1930s (!), it's very probably a modern re-skin (assuming it's really a Leica and not a Soviet copy re-engraved to look like one). The original vulcanite sometimes goes brown with age, but that would be hard to confuse with snakeskin.

Here, for example, is a IIIf on ebay that certainly has a modern, ugly, snakeskin covering. Why anyone would think this was a good idea is left as an exercise to the purchaser.

Edited April 11, 2024 by Anbaric

[Lance101]

Interesting, thxx