Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/11/03
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]At 02:19 PM 11/02/2001 -0800, Barney wrote: >PS - If you want to get into the a price vs quality vs sanity curve gone >totally >off the chart get into the world of stringed instruments. Some violins go for >(gasp) seven to ten million dollars! No, that wasn't a typo. A seven >followed by >six zeros. Talk about worshiping your Leica and not using. If I owned one >of those >babies it would never leave the vault! But stringed instruments, like Leicas, *need* to be used. A violin or cello that is not played for years can lose some of its tone. Also, part of the value of an nstrument is how good it sounds, and that people *know* how good it sounds. That's why gazillionaires buy Strads and Guarneris and such, and then loan them semi-permanently to their favorite up-and-coming young player. Insured to the hilt, of course. Pity the poor Leica that's been kept in a bank vault in plastic, and only handled with cotton gloves. Its lubricants ossify, and it has to be sent to the luthier, er, repairperson, for a CLA. Collectors should stick to shiny baubles and English Treacle Trays, and leave Leicas, violins and cellos to people who will use them. Yes they are things of beauty, but their true beauty is that they create more beauty, something that can't happen when they're languishing in a vault. Their value is to be appreciated, not just to appreciate in value. Now if collectors want to collect violas...... no, no, I'm not going there! "The first thing we do is kill all the collectors" Wilhelm Schaksberg, _Ernst III_ - --Peter "forgive me, it's late" Klein Seattle, WA - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html