Stolen Leica II with Elmar

[d_c]

I'm just putting this here in case anybody sees something pop up on Marketplace, etc.

My daughter had her bag stolen in north London last Friday (15th August 2025) which had in it a Leica II that she'd been using. It wasn't a collectible camera but it was in decent working condition and she was really distraught that it was taken. The camera was fitted with a later Elmar 5cm lens, Leica strap and Leitz FIRHE yellow filter.

A police reports has been filed, and it's been put on a couple of the standard databases, but if anyone on here happens to see it anywhere and remembers this post (I appreciate the chances of this are small) could you please let me know. Be aware that the camera body was originally bought from MW Classic and so the original completed listing for it still shows up on their website in google searches.

A couple of pics for reference:

 

[boojum]

Good luck.

 

[Richard G]

Poor kid. I had an M4 and Summilux 50 stolen in my mid 20s. I got over it. Nasty business. Who ever stole that Leica II will have no idea what it can do. If it's the worst thing that happens to your daughter she will be a very lucky woman. Best wishes.

 

[WoodallP]

That’s a real shame, there are lots of people fearful that they will get their Leica stolen in a targeted attack but this just sounds like bad luck. People who target Leicas are not generally going for Barnacks.

Not a surprise if it still shows up on MW, their record for removing sold items is a bit variable from what I hear.

 

[d_c]

Not a surprise if it still shows up on MW, their record for removing sold items is a bit variable from what I hear.

I mentioned it to avoid there being any misunderstanding - although the listing can still be found through google it shows up as "Out of Stock" and I don't think you can link to it from their website.

 

[d_c]

A quick update with a positive outcome - my daughter's bag has been found and handed in to the police. Some of the contents of the bag had gone missing including various items of clothing, food, etc, but the camera was still inside. I'm not sure what that says about the perceived value of an old Leica, but we don't care as we're just grateful to have it back.

 

[Paul T.]

So glad to hear that. Thanks for updating us.

 

[skopar steve]

Happy ending indeed. Glad she got her Barnack back.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Glad the camera was found!

 

[splitimageview]

Wow, that's great and quite unusual!

 

[AlwaysOnAuto]

Really made my Friday with that news.
That's great!

 

[tbhv55]

A quick update with a positive outcome - my daughter's bag has been found and handed in to the police. Some of the contents of the bag had gone missing including various items of clothing, food, etc, but the camera was still inside. I'm not sure what that says about the perceived value of an old Leica, but we don't care as we're just grateful to have it back.

That's a positive conclusion to a story which appeared to be all negative. 👍👍👍

 

[besk]

Says a lot about the camera IMO!

They thought it was some mechanical device with no apparent value - most likely.

 

[Godfrey]

Says a lot about the camera IMO!

They thought it was some mechanical device with no apparent value - most likely.

... Or it just wasn't The Photographer Thief ... 😉

Kidding aside, good fortune for getting it back! 😀

G

 

[valdas]

A quick update with a positive outcome - my daughter's bag has been found and handed in to the police. Some of the contents of the bag had gone missing including various items of clothing, food, etc, but the camera was still inside. I'm not sure what that says about the perceived value of an old Leica, but we don't care as we're just grateful to have it back.

So good to hear it was found with the camera intact. And it’s probably not the perceived value of an old Leica, it’s more like uneducated thieves 🙂

 

[pvdhaar]

A quick update with a positive outcome - my daughter's bag has been found and handed in to the police. Some of the contents of the bag had gone missing including various items of clothing, food, etc, but the camera was still inside. I'm not sure what that says about the perceived value of an old Leica, but we don't care as we're just grateful to have it back.

That's good news! It may have been an old Leica, but I can imagine that to your daughter it's something special that you can't replace just like that.

 

[Valkir1987]

What a relief and good to read. Great that the person who found the bag took it to the police.

 

[MrFujicaman]

Let's hope the SOB took a selfie with it!

 

[Archiver]

A quick update with a positive outcome - my daughter's bag has been found and handed in to the police. Some of the contents of the bag had gone missing including various items of clothing, food, etc, but the camera was still inside. I'm not sure what that says about the perceived value of an old Leica, but we don't care as we're just grateful to have it back.

That's fantastic news! There's something to be said about shooting with old cameras.

 

[santino]

There was this movie “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” where two burglars found two antique guns in a country house and one said to the other “don't you see how poor the owners are when they have guns that old”.