What's this?

[rxmd]

Hi,

rummaging through a dealer's discount bin I found a Leica M bottom plate with a funny little thing attached, for €2. It's a small angled metal block with a hole in the middle that goes through the bottom plate with some felt for making the whole thing light tight. The block is screwed to the bottom plate with two Phillips screws. See attached pictures.

Could this be the lucky find of my life, a unique Leica rarity of which only four were made, one of the black, and which will, when sold to a Japanese collector, fund me, my wife and my PhD for a year and still leave enough for an à-la-carte M7? Or, in a more serious vein, what is this, and what is it for?

Philipp

 

[normclarke]

Philipp,
Its a recording strip base for an MD2, it is fairly rare as not all these models had this fitment. Probably less than a few thousand made.

Cheers,
normclarke

 

[rxmd]

Norm,

thanks! How was this meant to be used? Do you insert a strip through the felt-covered opening?

Philipp

 

[x-ray]

In the body designed to use this base there was a groove milled in the inner film guides and overlapped into the frame edge. You would write on the strip and insert it in the slot, make the exposure and go to the next and do the same. Kinda like a stone age data back. I used on on a specially produced M4 on a reprovit copy setup in the late 60's and early 70's. Some collector might want it but the body had to be milled to take the tabs.