Laforet
Nowhere Man
Hi I am new to this forum as well as Leica photography so a big red HELLO to everybody. I thought about joining this forum a while ago only decided to do so when I received my first decent rangefinder, a well beaten bottom-rewind M2 with a couple of lenses. Now I feel priviledged😉
Before I bought my M2 I did some research and constructed a list of wax seals on top of lens mount in relation to their origin. I will post it here and see if someone is able to add to it or make corrections, I do not intend to claim any credit since much of them are not my original research anyway. Seals listed in alphabetical order.
56: Serviced by Paepke Fototechnik (http://www.paepke-fototechnik.de/)
92: Serviced by DAG as well all know it.
A: Serviced by Alois Kosnar from Stockholm(http://www.ksc.nu/cv,kamerareparat.html)
C: Manufactured by Leitz Midland, Canada, rare sight
H: Serviced by Havel Camera, Texas, USA (http://www.ppgsa.org/Havel.htm)
J: Serviced by Mr Gerry Smith from Toronto (http://www.kindermann.ca/)
K: Serviced by Kanto Camera Service, Japan (www.kanto-cs.co.jp/english/index_english.html)
L: Raised letter, manufactured by Leitz up to M4-2 and did not include CL
L: Recessed letter, serviced by Leitz up to 1982(?)
M: Unsure origin
N: Serviced by Leitz New York
O: Unsure origin again, mentioned on photo.net to be a service person from Adeleide, Australia.
S: Hand-engraved letter, serviced by Sherry (http://www.sherrykrauter.com/)
I have also anticipated the fact that more than one service person may use the same letter, some simply signed off with a cross or similar simple symbols, and some service person in Japan are known (unconfirmed) to have used ethnical scripts for them.
Also with the two numbered seals, given that the 92 seal was handed out at the time when fewer Leitz Authorised technicians were around the world, this is very likely to have been a numbering system by Leitz to track their technician's jobs, well just a personal thought. I have only seen two of them which is too few to provide a sound evidence.
Before I bought my M2 I did some research and constructed a list of wax seals on top of lens mount in relation to their origin. I will post it here and see if someone is able to add to it or make corrections, I do not intend to claim any credit since much of them are not my original research anyway. Seals listed in alphabetical order.
56: Serviced by Paepke Fototechnik (http://www.paepke-fototechnik.de/)
92: Serviced by DAG as well all know it.
A: Serviced by Alois Kosnar from Stockholm(http://www.ksc.nu/cv,kamerareparat.html)
C: Manufactured by Leitz Midland, Canada, rare sight
H: Serviced by Havel Camera, Texas, USA (http://www.ppgsa.org/Havel.htm)
J: Serviced by Mr Gerry Smith from Toronto (http://www.kindermann.ca/)
K: Serviced by Kanto Camera Service, Japan (www.kanto-cs.co.jp/english/index_english.html)
L: Raised letter, manufactured by Leitz up to M4-2 and did not include CL
L: Recessed letter, serviced by Leitz up to 1982(?)
M: Unsure origin
N: Serviced by Leitz New York
O: Unsure origin again, mentioned on photo.net to be a service person from Adeleide, Australia.
S: Hand-engraved letter, serviced by Sherry (http://www.sherrykrauter.com/)
I have also anticipated the fact that more than one service person may use the same letter, some simply signed off with a cross or similar simple symbols, and some service person in Japan are known (unconfirmed) to have used ethnical scripts for them.
Also with the two numbered seals, given that the 92 seal was handed out at the time when fewer Leitz Authorised technicians were around the world, this is very likely to have been a numbering system by Leitz to track their technician's jobs, well just a personal thought. I have only seen two of them which is too few to provide a sound evidence.
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