Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/08/30

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Subject: Re: Quality Control
From: Edward Meyers <aghalide@panix.com>
Date: Sat, 30 Aug 1997 09:37:11 -0400 (EDT)

During my visit to the E. Leitz, Wetzlar factory in 1962 or 1963,
I was shown the assembly of the Leica M cameras, amongst other
things. The person showing me around was Bob Schwalberg, an American
working, at that time, for E. Leitz, Wetzlar and New York.
Of special note was the fitting of parts and componants. If I
remember correctly, Bob showed me small boxes of parts marked
with (I believe) minus and plus numbers (or signs). This, he
indicated, were parts that were hand-fitted to make certain that
there was always a perfect fit. A plus part would be fitted to
a minus componant, for example. The Leica was virtually hand-made.
I have not visited the Leica factory since my last visit in
1966, in Wetzlar. Some day I'll search my negatives, as I
remember shooting some pictures in the factory, and never printed
them. Is my observation no longer the case? Ed Meyers