Strange marking on an SOOMP box?

[landsknechte]

In eBay auction 270207147988, there's a strange marking on the box of a Summar hood. It's the thing that looks like an A in a box with some additional letters and numerals.

I know I've seen that somewhere else, but I don't remember where. Anyone have a clue what it is?

 

[Thud]

Milatary depot stores inventory marks.

 

[landsknechte]

Is that something that would only be on an item as it is surplused out of the military inventory, or would it have it when in storage for the military?

 

[John Shriver]

That was sold to the military. 6760-242-6688 is the FSN (Federal Stock Number). (6760 is the Federal Supply Class for cameras, etc.) Since it's rubber stamped, it may have been added later, FSN's started in 1949, this hood may be older, given it was made by E. Leitz NY.

The logo on the lower right is for Army Signal Corps. They also handled photography.

If you translate that FSN to a NSN (National Stock Number) by inserting two 00's after the first four digits, and look it up on WebFLIS, you find that it was "cancelled without replacement" in 1960. (The DoD is a little slow in canceling stock numbers for lens hoods for lenses discontinued in 1939...)

 

[John Shriver]

Those are aquisition-time markings. No great effort is invested in preparing items for surplus sale, to say the least. At least they didn't De-MIL it. (Destroy, render unfit for further military use.)

 

[landsknechte]

Thanks for the help guys. I was ultimately looking at a 135mm Elmar with a similar mark on it. The auction ended less than an hour before the scheduled end time because "The seller ended this listing early because of an error in the minimum bid or reserve amount."

Right.

 

[LeicaTom]

US Army Signal Corps stamp......it was more than likely some WW2 Army surplus from Equipment prepared by Leitz New York after 1940 for gear already in use by some select members of the Signal Corps (Leica IIIa and IIIb with Elmar/Summar lenses were the norm when issued by the Government, though Leica`s were rare on the battlefield during WW2 on the Allied side, most Signal Corps men worked with large format equipment, Leica`s were the American photographer`s "snapshot" cameras) -
- It`s something rare and uncommon enough the NYC hood is interesting with a US Army connection - but sorry typical KEVIN prices, way too expensive for what it is.....

The Summar was out of the German books and issues by late 1939, but when Leitz New York pulled the plug on any Imports in August/Sept 1939, there were still Summar lenses were still on the shelves and unused/unsold
(this explains the amount of the rarer post #490xxx lenses being issued in "feet" scale)

Leftover IIIa`s and new IIIb cameras were issued to the US Army, pretty much as the British Military forces received their Leica`s as well, bought up by the Government from private owners and then turned into Army issue, but I`m sure Leitz New York also had issued equipment to the Government as well, from a set contract - I`m still looking for any historical documents and orders verifing this, if anyone out there has anything let me know personally for the research for our Leica book - thanks!

Tom

 

[LeicaTom]

Thanks for the help guys. I was ultimately looking at a 135mm Elmar with a similar mark on it. The auction ended less than an hour before the scheduled end time because "The seller ended this listing early because of an error in the minimum bid or reserve amount."

Right.

I saw that lens as well......way OVERPRICED for what it was, it was a $100 lens if that......not a big deal about a US Army Signal Corps ink stamp

Now if it was W.H. (Wehrmacht issue) RLM Grey paint 135mm Hektor, that`s a different story..........but also a whole other ballgame 😉

Tom

 

[landsknechte]

It was worth a go at the opening bid of $49 though. I wasn't looking at it as much as a collector's item, but rather a cool item to ad to my WWII reenacting arsenal.

I suspect he decided that he could get more than that, or that someone made him an offer he couln't refuse.

(...and do accept my apologies for being so roundabout in asking the question. Never had any intention of moving on that shade. I'm a bit gunshy from having been royally screwed by a fellow collector on another forum, and am hesitant to tip my hand while an auction is still going on.)

 

[LeicaTom]

Well, check out Kevins prices at his website.....he sells the SAME item on evilbay as he adverts on the site cept the site price is $20 cheaper etc. /go by the prices on his site

He has lot`s of nice gear, but it`s priced about 4x/5x higher than what it`s worth or has like a 200 to 400% price markup - just an attempt to force collector prices up that`s all, but as many notice he`s had the same gear for 4 + years.....there`s lenses and cameras I remember on there from long ago, if he would be more realistic with his prices, he would have EVERYTHING gone - the market`s going into a slump now, so really rare gear and pricey stuff`s going to sit around for a while 😉

That Summar hood is maybe worth tops $150 - it is rather interesting as anything US Army related is collectable and deseriable, just a N.O.S. hood in a box is another paperweight too pretty to use and is just a nice box to look at in my opinion

That 135mm lens would have been a good buy at $100/$125 collectable, but still useable

Tom

 

[landsknechte]

Speaking of Summar hoods, does anyone know when the silver colored E.Leitz NY version came out?

 

[LeicaTom]

I think ca. 1937........

Tom