100th year of Leica

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Vickko

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Looking back at the commemorative Leicas:

50 Jahre: 1925 to 1975 years of production of cameras
70th Anniversary: 1913 to 1983 from Barnack prototype to 1983

Guess what - 100 years is coming up in 2013 (from 1913, Barnack prototype).

Does anyone know what Leica is going to do for a century commemorative Leica?

Will us common mortals be able to afford it?

...Vick
 
Vickko said:
Looking back at the commemorative Leicas:

50 Jahre: 1925 to 1975 years of production of cameras
70th Anniversary: 1913 to 1983 from Barnack prototype to 1983

Guess what - 100 years is coming up in 2013 (from 1913, Barnack prototype).

Does anyone know what Leica is going to do for a century commemorative Leica?

Will us common mortals be able to afford it?

...Vick
Click to expand...

As an owner of Leicas and being familiar with the story since 1963, I would not be so hopeful for the Century commemorative to fall upon the lots of common mortals like myself..

The last commemorative for the common mortals I recall was in 1975 for the Half-Century "50 Jahre" Jubilee versions of the M5 and the CL - and a very limited number of M4s if I'm not wrong - were sold with regular prices. It was after 1975 Wetzlar had figured out that some of us followers were rather uncommon mortals expecting to be treated uncommonly.
 
Gads mine is 57-8 years old (I've never checked). But it still works very well, I've had it for almost fifty years. Here is one from this year:

5399790658_e5912cf07a.jpg


and one from 1963-4 (AG-1 bulb):

5110378529_56f4007481.jpg
 
Wow, in 1975, no way I was able to afford any Leica (maybe a lens cap), and certainly didn't realize that the 50-Jahre was the same price as regular.

Was the 50-Jahre version the only one that you could buy in '75?

Vick


BobYIL said:
The last commemorative for the common mortals I recall was in 1975 for the Half-Century "50 Jahre" Jubilee versions of the M5 and the CL - and a very limited number of M4s if I'm not wrong - were sold with regular prices.
Click to expand...
 
Vickko said:
Wow, in 1975, no way I was able to afford any Leica (maybe a lens cap), and certainly didn't realize that the 50-Jahre was the same price as regular.

Was the 50-Jahre version the only one that you could buy in '75?

Vick
Click to expand...

No, there were regular models too besides and it took years (!) for the anniversary models to be sold; I do not know why a lot of people did not prefer to buy Leicas with a large emblem on. Also in those years we knew that the black painted ones were for photojournalists, very few in number and costing some DM 150 more (probably around $50 then..) but getting scratched and peeled (blistering from hand sweat) in short time, so the chromium models were preferred. Used black paints were not fetching as much as the chromium ones 🙂 . When the first black chromium was introduced with the M4s, Ooooooo! it was a sudden hit..

It was after the M5, especially with the M6s, Leitz discovered that "scarcity" was bringing more than "quality" so perhaps a dozen of special editions have been intoduced; probably the reason why a lot of oldtimers like myself regard the classical Ms (M2, M3 and M4) as being the pinnacle of Leica quality.
 
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