Description

All right, so… there was a time in the early-to-mid 1940s when German industries found their normal course of doing business complicated by, let s say, a convolution of international relations. With imports restricted and German manufacturing capacity allocated to more, ah, pressing priorities, Leica found itself in a bit of a pickle: they d been contracted to supply cameras to certain government agencies which will remain here unnamed, but they d run out of their usual material to make shutter curtains. Unable to source more of this rubberized black cloth, they turned to a stash of unproven red material that had yet to be fully tested. It worked! For a while. Ultimately, it proved less durable than the black cloth, and Leica went back to the black material as soon as the shall-we-say regrettable situation was resolved. While most of these red curtain cameras eventually had their original curtains replaced with black, there are a few survivors: this camera is one of them. It s a 1941 42 model by serial number, and while it s not in mint condition, it s in pretty solid shape considering its age and origins. The original red curtain has a touch of the typical black goo on its bottom edge, but nothing too dramatic; better yet, it s been recently serviced and film tested, and it works well. Totally shootable, and an interesting piece of Leica history, too.

nb: don t mention the war when you write this description thanks. -A