Leica 1A stop pin

[Fotomman]

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I have recently bought a black Leica 1A with a long lens pin fixing the lens to the body in the 11 o’clock position. As seen in the example attached (not my camera) the long pic is cutaway neatly in half like mine. Most 1A Leicas have a shorter pin. Why is my pin longer? The lens on my camera is marked in feet with a close-focus of 1.5 feet. I suspect the longer pin is necessary to stop the rotation of the lens as it is unscrewed to the closest focus setting  of 1.5 ft? On my 1A the cut-out allows me to attach the lens cap when the lens is fully retracted. Is this a factory spec? I have seen reports that Ogilvy & Co, the London advertising and marketing company imported a batch of close focusing Leica 1A cameras around 1930-ish? Anyone know their serial numbers? Francis Ogilvy, brother of David Ogilvy, the advertising guru, purchased Leica No. 225 for the company, the first Leica to be imported into the UK.

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[TomB_tx]

Yes - the long pin is a necessary feature of the close focus models as the lens extends further out as is focuses closer. The cut out section is a good idea to allow the normal lens cap to fit without interference. I also have a close focus 1a but the stop pin is not cut out, so the cap rubs against it when mounting.

Here's a quick snap to show why the long pin is needed with the close focus lens: with basically one turn it moves out almost the full length of the pin. Makes me wonder if the lens on yours is a standard focus model?

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Edited 17 hours ago by TomB_tx

[Fotomman]

Thanks for that. To be honest I‘m not sure what a ‘standard’ lens is on the 1A. The markings on my version run from 1.5 feet (18 inches) to 2 ft, then 2.5; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 10; 12; 15; 20; 30; 50 feet; and then infinity. A close-focus of 1 meter seems to be the most common on 1A Elmars. I presume my 1:3.5 F = 50mm lens is original to the body. Its distance markings in feet (as opposed to meters) suggest an export model to the UK. Perhaps its close focus spec. was required to reproduce Ogilvy’s advertisements? I have yet to try its performance at 1.5 feet.

[willeica]

3 hours ago, Fotomman said:

Thanks for that. To be honest I‘m not sure what a ‘standard’ lens is on the 1A. The markings on my version run from 1.5 feet (18 inches) to 2 ft, then 2.5; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 10; 12; 15; 20; 30; 50 feet; and then infinity. A close-focus of 1 meter seems to be the most common on 1A Elmars. I presume my 1:3.5 F = 50mm lens is original to the body. Its distance markings in feet (as opposed to meters) suggest an export model to the UK. Perhaps its close focus spec. was required to reproduce Ogilvy’s advertisements? I have yet to try its performance at 1.5 feet.

Yes, all early I As sent to Britain were in feet scale and close focus models were only in feet scale, so a lot of close focus models turn up in Britain. Ogilvys were a Leita dealer, but the Leitz presence changed to Leitz UK in Mortimer Street London in the mid 1920s, but obviously Ogilvy were still involved in some way in 1930. Your pin stop is normal for the camera which you have.

William 

[Dr Monochrom]

Hi @Fotomman. It's completely normal. To my knowledge, there were 4 types of lenses used on Leica I Model A cameras:

• 50mm f/3.5 Anastigmat
• 50mm f/3.5 Elmax
• 50mm f/3.5 Elmar (likely the one on your camera)
• 50mm f/2.5 Hektor

50mm f/3.5 Elmar was used on Leica I Model A cameras with serial numbers ranging from approximately 1300 to approximately 71249¹. Some of these Leica I Model A cameras made for export (from 1926²) were designed to focus at a distance of 1.5 feet, rather than the standard 3 feet (1 meter)¹. Yours is likely one of such "close focus" cameras and therefore features the longer pin.

Literature:

¹Van Hasbroeck, P.-H. (1983). The Leica : a history illustrating every model and accessory. Sotheby.
²Rogliatti, G. (1979). Leica, the First Fifty Years. Hove, Wakefield: Hove Camera Foto Books ; Distributed by Fountain Press.