Most expensive 35 millimeter camera-world record
set by Leica
[Jan
19]VIENNA, Austria--
The most expensive 35 millimeter camera
and the second most expensive
camera ever auctioned is a Leica no.107 sold for $492,500 at the
12th WestLicht
Photographica Auction
. 
Photo: This 0-series Leica no. 107 sold for $492,500,
setting a world auction record for a Leica and for a 35 millimeter
camera.
( click to enlarge
photo
)
By accepting the bid of a private European collector,
auctioneer Peter Coeln turned a slender black camera into the most
expensive 35 millimeter camera .
Only 21 of these cameras were produced to test the
market in 1923, two years before the commercial introduction of
the Leica A.
The auctioned camera is the seventh camera of
the Leica 0-series. Factory records indicate its delivery to New
York for patenting. This means that this camera is not only one
of the major rarities existing, it is also the first Leica to be
exported.
The existing world record for a camera was also established
by a WestLicht
Photographica Auction
— a Daguerreotype by the Paris manufacturer
Susse Frères from 1839, was sold for $850,000 this past May.
In other highlights among the Leica lots, an M3
gold no. 834000 (photo)
realized $75,600 and an M3 in black
paint fetched $33,400.
( enlarge
photo
)
The auction also saw two Leica lenses achieving remarkably
high results — a Summicron 2/5 centimeter Prototype and a Noctilux
1.2/50 millimeter sold for $28,100 each. Generally speaking, the
prices for Leicas and accessories were very solid. Nearly 100 percent
of the Leitz articles were sold and very often the estimates were
considerably exceeded.
Some Nikon cameras also posted notable prices. A Stereo-Nikkor
outfit (see photo)
brought $57,100 and a Nikon F High Speed
made $28,100.
( enlarge
photo
)
Extremely high prices were also registered for
a large selection of stereo lots that were offered. A Hirst and
Wood "The Natural Stereoscope" went out at $29,000, and an extremely
rare Stereo Sigriste camera was sold for $25,500. Two previously
unknown stereo viewers were also able to achieve record prices.
The "Autosynoptomètre" viewer by Giroux was auctioned for $13,200,
while the "Isostereoscopio" by Carlo Ponti brought $11,400.
All prices quoted have been converted from euros
to US dollars and include auction charges.
The next WestLicht
Photographica Auction
will take place in May.
For information, http://www.westlicht-auction.com
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