Leica Books Lament :-(

["Craig W. Shier" <shier@mnsinc.com>]

Leica books seem to be hard to find.  Sure there are mail order sources, 
but I really like to touch a book before I put down the hard-earned to buy 
it.  I live just outside the Washington D.C. area, but not so close that I 
make many treasure hunting expeditions.  The nearby camera stores consist 
of a second tier Ritz (no pro quality stuff in stock), and the likes of 
Walmart.  On a recent venture toward town, I stopped at a pro-quality shop, 
albeit not a Leica dealer.  Their only Leica book (The Leica M Compendium) 
had just been purchased by one of their staff members who'd just bought an 
M3.  Another, I was assured, was on order and would arrive the next week.

Having overspent on books and collected more than I really need anyway, I 
resorted to the public library as an inexpensive and temporary source for 
books.  Our library system's only book on Leica is an ancient "Leica 
Manual" published when the M5 was hot news.  Desiring more recent 
information I searched out book listings on the Web and came up with a list 
I thought would be good to obtain using inter-library loan.  This is a 
valuable way to borrow books from all over the U.S. for free, usually. 
 Well, the librarian could only identify 3 from my list as decent 
candidates.
	1. The Leica Collector's Guide
	2. The Leica M Compendium and,
	3. The Leica Pocket Guide
Thence, home to wait for news.

One week later.  Postcard arrives indicating that out of 7,000 libraries in 
the network, not a single copy of the Collector's Guide existed.

Two weeks later.   Postcard arrives indicating existence of 5 copies of M 
Compendium in the network but owning libraries would not lend.

Three weeks later.  Oh joy unbounded!  Postcard arrives indicating Pocket 
guide is available for pickup at local branch.

So I sped off to the library.  Hopes for recent information dashed.  The 
edition which arrived was a shelf-worn copy from the mid-70s obtained from 
a library in a small town in Alabama (of all places).  Clearly, 20 years 
ago some librarian who'd skimmed the overdue fines to buy a Leica had 
ordered it for the library so he wouldn't have to pay for it.  I can't 
imagine any other reason it would have been among their acquisitions.  It 
was not a total loss of course.  All the info on Leicas made prior to 
mid-70s was there and it was interesting although not was I really wanted.

Happy ending.  A few weeks later, I made my way to another pro-level shop 
and found a variety of Leica resources, including all the above, and 
purchased my own M Compendium.

Moral:  Having learned that only 10,000 or fewer Ms have been made each 
year,  I guess it's not surprising that the books have not made their way 
into the public library system.

Lingering question for those who may have not X'ed this note yet:  How many 
of those 10K actually make their way to the U.S each year?