Page 8 - A40

Leica M3 no. 700365
€ 16.000*
‘one corner’
no. 700365, 1954, condition B/A € 32.000 – 36.000
Very early M3 body with a distinctive corner at the front of
the top plate (only found on the earliest examples of the
Leica M3), with all original features like the early casting type,
long strap lugs, no ‘L’-seal, early viewfinder and back door,
the camera is in excellent condition, with a small dent
on the left strap lug, it comes with an early, collapsible
Summicron 2/5 cm no. 1126618, the camera was delivered
to New York on 13.03.1954
Experimental Leica M € 15.000*
with metal slide shutter
1968 € 30.000 – 40.000
Discovered only a few years ago, this special Leica M body
is an original prototype including a never-released shutter
type with vertically-travelling metal blinds. This unique
mechanism is built-in in a heavily modified Leica M body.
A view inside reveals that the entire mechanism was actually
designed for c.12 mm narrower housing (possibly a compact
version of Leica M4). Included in the lot are 10 original
large-format drawings showing the technical details of the
shutter assembly. Exactly this camera was shown in G.
Mann ‘Leicaflex, die Entwicklung einer Legende’ on page 362.
This special camera represents an interesting step in the
history of Leica and a unique insight into the development
of M cameras.