Since that post back in March of 2015 I've managed to get some Leica clones made by Canon and Nicca. The Nicca (III-S) was more of a copy than the Canon (P), but they still only slightly dampened my search for the real thing.
I did get an M4-P a while back, and really enjoy it, but I got tired of having to mount my LTM lenses onto adapters so I could use them. Yesterday I finally fulfilled a plan I made long ago to celebrate my official retirement, and that was to get a IIIf made the same year I was born (1953). And it's coming from a shop in my home state of Indiana!
It has a nice engraving of a name on the bottom plate, and I did a little sleuthing on Google. If it's who I think, he used to live close to Gary, IN, then moved to Sarasota, FL. No mention in the obituaries about him being into photography, though it might not have been something he did a lot of, just some snaps here and there. So it might be I still have no idea who the person is that used to own the camera, but I hope to make him proud of what I produce with it.
PF