The folks at Wetzlar Camera Auction have announced that their next auction will be coming up on October 7th, 2023. The company has also posted information on some of the items that will be there.
As usual, we’ve got the expected array of Leica and Leitz cameras and lenses, but there’s also a very interesting lens from Nikon in there, too.
Leica O (1932) – €1,500,000-2,000,000
This is a Leica O Series camera produced in 1923, two years before Leica officially launched. There are only 22-25 of these known to have been made, with the whereabouts of 16 of them still known today. This is one of them.
This is essentially a prototype for what became the Leica I. The paintwork is said to be in “very nice condition”, with a five-element 50mm f/3.5 lens with an f/12 aperture. It’s expected to fetch €1,500,000 to €2,000,000 during the auction.
One Leica O sold in 2018 for a record-setting $2.95 million. The last Leica O series camera that went to auction was Oskar Barnack’s personal Leica O, which set an entirely new record in 2022, selling for more than a whopping $15 million.
Leica IIIc (1934) – €150,000-200,000
Another Leica prototype, this time it’s a Leica IIIc prototype from 1934. This one’s a little more affordable than the Leica O above, with a far more reasonable hammer price expectation of around €150,000 to €200,000.
Leica M7 “Handmade Titanium Camera” – €40,000-50,000
Bringing things just a little more up to date, above is a Leica M7 “Handmade Titanium Camera” from 2002. This edition of the Leica M7 was a one-off creation for Sheikh Saud Al-Thani of Qatar. It features a special unique serial number of 8888888 and “1/1”, to denote the very limited edition, engraved into the hotshoe.
It’s expected to fetch around €40,000-50,000, which is a bargain compared to the stuff above. So, if you’re willing to fork over for a Leica but don’t want of those common $6-9K ones, this’ll help you stand out amongst the crowd.
Nikon ED Nikkor 1200-1700mm f/5.6-8 P IF – €80,000-100,000
I rarely see things in these auctions that I’d actually like to have a play with, but this is definitely an exception to that rule. I’d love to be able to throw one of my Nikon DSLRs on this thing for a few experimental shoots.
Unfortunately, this one’s a little outside my budget, with an expected hammer price of somewhere between €80,000 to €100,000. One day… Maybe.
There are a few more items listed on the Wetzlar auction website, although a complete catalogue for the auction is not yet available. It’s expected to be coming soon, though.
What are you looking forward to seeing at the auction?
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