A frequent forum contributer, buzzardkid, just sold a 1941/42-vintage Leica IIIC in the classifieds. The body had an E. Leitz New York mark permanently attached. I know E. Leitz New York had lenses manufactured in the U.S. during the war, but was it able to obtain new camera bodies indirectly through neutral third countries? Or did the company just sell used bodies during that period when the U.S. was at war with Germany?
I should add that I tried to search this forum's archives for the answer, but no matter how many words I used, I always got a message on my screen that I was using less than the minimum three words in my question.
Keith
I'm sure he added that marking, they were no Leica IIIC's sold in the USA untill 1948..........go ahead and ask him
🙂
Leica sales to the US Public ended in August 1939 with the closure of ELNY and the end of the printing of the American Leica Photography magazine. No cameras were received from Germany after this time and no business was conducted with the German factory after August 31st 1939.
(this is documented in some issues of the Leica Photography magazine printed in the 1950's, I have also read that ELNY assets and business records were all put into holding at that time, for an indefinite period etc. etc.)
Hostilities between Germany and Great Britain ended the cross Atlantic imports of many items and the Leica camera was one of those items.
Privately owned camera shops that might have carried Leica cameras and accessories would have had stock untill it was all sold out, but no one else received anything new once war in Europe had broken out.
Between August 1939 and early 1940 the US Army may also have taken in some deliveries of left over Leica IIIA's and IIIB's just how many I don't know?
Some US Army Signal Corps historians have told me this story over the years, but I have still to see some military documents supporting the fact.
(I have seen Leitz New York accessories like lens hoods and filter boxes stamped with USASC triangles and mid 1940's dates so some equipment did go to the US Army from ELNY deadstock).
The Leica IIIC and "wartime" IIIC K was
NEVER sold to the general public outside of Nazi Germany
(and in the Nazi controlled countries) , a handful
(less than 100) may have been captured by Allied forces between June 1940 and May 1945 and also some IIIC cameras were must surely acquired over the Shetland Bus ~ Via Great Britain over Norway from Sweden.........
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shetland_bus
And some cameras were even shipped to Japan
(for use by the Japenese Air Force and Navy) , but the only civilian issues of cameras/lenses during the war to an outside country were to Neturals like Spain, Sweden and Switzerland
(less than 500 cameras).
Regular civilian production and sales to and from ELNY didn't reopen untill 1948.
All Leica "stepper" style IIIC cameras and also "flat top" styled cameras made between May 8th 1945 into 1947 were issued to the US Forces In Germany.
I hope this clears up your questions about Leitz New York during the war.
😀
Tom