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[OM] OT: Pending auction

Subject: [OM] OT: Pending auction
From: Clyde Soles <csoles@xxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2001 14:55:12 -0600
Coming soon..save your pennies:


Exclusively on the Amazon website, Leica Camera AG will be auctioning off an internationally coveted collectors' item on the internet from May 13-18, 2001: a Leica M6 TTL rangefinder system camera with black paint finish from the special limited edition, now sold out, in commemoration of the introduction of the first Leica camera 75 years ago at the Leipzig Spring Fair. The camera with the striking serial number 2,500,000 was presented to Czech president Václav Havel during a reception in May 2000. The proceeds from the auction are to go to the "Vize 97" foundation trust created by the president and his wife to support projects concerning culture, humanity, education, health and social affairs in the Czech Republic.

Further details on the auction will be available from May 6 at www.leica-camera.com and www.amazon.de/leica-auction. The auction will start on both the websites Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk on May 13 at 15:30 hours CET, ending five days later on May 18, at 15:30 hours CET at the earliest. It may take longer, as the auction will not be closed until at least ten minutes after the last bid. Everyone who has registered on one of the three Amazon websites with his or her e-mail address and credit card or bank account details is entitled to bid. Registration is in the security interests of all those taking part in the auction. The registration will not be used for any other purposes or passed on to third parties.

The corporate management decision to present the valuable camera to Václav Havel pays tribute to the deep personal commitment of the former author and dissident, who played a key role in democratising Eastern Europe and surmounting the East/West conflict. Following its 75-year tradition of presenting cameras with special serial numbers, the camera and optics company is also recognising the role of the Czech Republic as a nation of European culture and is honouring Havel on behalf of the country's most important photographers.

The Leica company presents cameras with special serial numbers at irregular intervals to important photographers, scientists and politicians. For example, the 25,000th Leica was presented to Sven Hedin, the Swedish explorer of Asia, in 1929, the 750,000th Leica to photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson in 1955 and the 800,000th Leica to the first German Chancellor, Dr. Konrad Adenauer, in 1956.

Not only the camera itself, but also the lens, a Leica 35 mm Summilux-M ASPH. 1/1.4, silver chrome finish, bears a special serial number. The numbers 4,051,036 signify Havel's date of birth, 5th October 1936. The camera comes in a wooden presentation case and with documents certifying that it was presented to Václav Havel.

The camera with the serial number 2,500,000 is also the most wanted camera in the 2,000-piece edition. Another model in the series went for over DM 46,000 in an auction held by Amazon.de and Leica Camera AG a year ago, because it was the last model available from the manufacturer. The original sales price was DM 5,798. The huge demand for models of the special series is not only due to the striking serial numbers but also to various changes in the serial production. The camera's deep black paint finish for instance conjures a reminiscence of earlier cameras of the worldwide renowned enterprise Leica Camera AG. Contrary to the chromium-plating of cameras usual nowadays, the paint finish is more prone to minor damage such as scratches. This feature, however, is widely appreciated by many photographers and collectors as with frequent use over the years it will make brass shine through so that the camera gains a unique patina.

List of Leica cameras with special serial numbers presented so far


Ever since 1925, Leica cameras with special serial numbers have been presented to important photographers, scientists and politicians. Here is a list of the anniversary cameras awarded to date:

1925    Leica no. 1,000 to Prof. Dr. Walther Schultze, Gießen.
1928 Leica no. 10,000 to Dr. Hugo Eckner, patron of German airship navigation.
1929    Leica no. 25,000 to the Swedish explorer of Asia, Sven Hedin.
1931    Leica no. 50,000 to Dr. Wilhelm Filchner, German explorer of Asia.
1932 Leica no. 75,000 to Prof. Auguste Piccard, explorer of heights and depths.
1933    Leica no. 100,000 to Prof. Dr. Leo Frobenius, explorer of inner Africa.
1933 Leica no. 125,000 to Prof. Gunther O. Dyhrenfurth, leader of the international Himalaya expeditions in 1930 and 1934.
1935    Leica no. 150,000 to Leopold Godowsky and
1935 Leica no. 175,000 to Leopold Mannes, the inventors of the Kodachrome technique.
1936    Leica no. 200,000 to Dr. Paul Wolff, pioneer of the 35 mm film.
1937 Leica no. 250,000 to Dr. Wilhelm Filchner as a replacement for camera no. 50,000 left behind in Central Asia
1941    Leica no. 300,000 to Dr. Gustav Wilmanns and
1941 Leica no. 350,000 to Dr. Wilhelm Schneider, inventors of the Agfacolor film. 1946 Leica no. 400,000 to Dr. Wilhelm Schneider as replacement for the lost camera no. 350,000. 1949 Leica no. 450,000 to Richard Schirrmann, founder of the German youth hostelling association.
1950    Leica no. 500,000 to Dr. Ernst Leitz II.
1951 Leica no. 575,000 to Prof. Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the great physician, musician and religious philosopher 1952 Leica no. 600,000 to Prof. Dr. William Beebe, USA, the well-known zoologist and deep sea explorer. 1953 Leica no. 650,000 to Prof. Norman Dyhrenfurth, photographer of the Swiss Mount Everest expedition. 1953 Leica no. 675,000 to Prof. Dr. Fritz Zernike, Nobel Prize winner for Physics. 1955 Leica no. 700,000 to Prof. Stephan Kruckenhauser, St. Christoph (Arlberg), author of several books of photographs. 1955 Leica no. 750,000 to Henri Cartier-Bresson on the occasion of the Biennale de Photographie in Paris. 1956 Leica no. 800,000 to Chancellor Dr. Konrad Adenauer to mark his 80th birthday.
1956    Leica no. 830,000 to Prime Minister Pandit Nehru.
1958    Leica no. 900,000 to Edwin L. Wisherd, Washington.
1958 Leica to Queen Elizabeth of England. Instead of bearing an official number, the camera was engraved with the Queen's initials. The internal number of the camera is 919,000.
1959    Leica no. 950,000 to Fulvio Roiter, Meolo - Venezia.
1960    Leica no. 980,000 to Dwight D. Eisenhower.
1960    Leica no. 1,000,000 to Dr. Ludwig Leitz.
1961 Leica no. 1,000,001 to Alfred Eisenstaedt, the world-famous life photographer. 1965 LEICAFLEX to Queen Elizabeth II of England. Instead of bearing an official number, the camera was engraved with the initials of the Queen, "Elizabeth II. Regina" and presented to Her Majesty by Hessian Minister-President Georg August Zinn during a state visit. The internal number of the camera is 1,084,900. 1965 Leica no. 1,100,000 to Emil Schulthess, world-famous photographer and author of several books of photographs. 1965 Leica no. 1,111,111 to Arthur Rothstein, chief photographer of the American magazine "Look". 1979 Leica no. 1,500,000 to Dr. Hans Friderichs, President of the German Photographical Society and Leica no. 1,906,085 to Prof. L. Fritz Gruber, organiser of the photokina picture shows and honorary chairman of the German Photographical Society on the occasion of his 85th birthday.
2000    Leica no. 2,500,000 to Czech president Václav Havel.


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