Re: Leica Luxus

[leica@purdue.edu (Jason Tetzloff)]

Alistair ( and the rest of the LUG)

It was nice to read the wonderful story of the Luxus--it is fun to see
where unexpected cameras turn up.  Probably each of the collectors on this
list have their own story about their find.  My own story is find and
buying an Anastigmat in Eau Claire WI.

I worked for the paper in town and one of the perks  were free classified
ads, not an inconsiberable freebie.  I advertised daily for "Old Leicas"
and numerous IIIa's, IIIc's, IIIf's and M3's were purchased from folk who
had answered my ad.  Interesting stuff, but nothing really rare.  One
night, though, the phone rang and my wife took a message from a man who
said that he had Leica #169, and wanted to know if I was interested.  I
came home from a night football game to see that message next to the phone,
and you could imagine my enthusiasm.  I had to wait to call him until the
next day and it wasn't until the next night that I was able to go see the
camera.  I nervously made my way to the door, hoping beyond hope that he
had read the serial number correctly, and that it wasn't just a IIIc with
scraped off numbers.  I went in and he brought out a VERY beat up case, and
my heart sank.  Until I opened it up and saw the wonderful "Anastigmat' on
the lens bezel and the wonderfully lightly brassed "A" body.  I nearly
fainted.  It was really Leica #169, the 38th or 39th Leica that ever left
Wetzlar.  He had bought in 1937 for $45, and was upset over the deal, done
by mail with a NY camera store (somethings never change) because he had
wanted a Leica II.  He had used it off and on over the years, and had even
let his son use it for a high school photography project!

Now came the business part of all of this.  I gulped, and asked how much he
wanted for the camera.  He mentioned an unbelievably low three digit
number, not much higher than the serial number.  First, though, he wanted
to show me another camera that he thought I might be interested in.  It was
only a Bell and Howell Photon (remember those?) but I said that I loved it
and wanted it almost as much as the Leica and threw in another $35 for that
camera, and well, basically fled with my treasure.

Youth and the need for a new car (license plate LEICA, though) and probably
grad school tuition bills made me part with the camera about a year later.
Foolish.  Ten years later #169 would be worth a small fortune and I
probably could buy more than the Honda I did then.  Stan Tamarkin handled
the sale well for me, and it disappeared into some collector's hand who
probably had better shelf space than I did for such a camera.  Sometimes I
regret letting it go, but then I remember what I love most about Leica
collecting.  I like to own the cameras but I love the hunt for them even
more.  I still love looking in improbable little junk and camera stores,
hoping to find a Heboo or whatever, and every now and then I run an ad in
the local paper, and wait for a call that begins with the phrase, "I have
this Leica, number ....."

Always keep looking...


Jason M. Tetzloff
Dept. of History, Purdue University
1358 University Hall
West Lafayette, IN 47907-1358