Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/05/31
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]<<"A Leica could be obtained in Germany for the equivalent of $20 in US cigarettes and would sell in New York for $600. The delivery to the States via G.I. mail was duty free." ------------------------------ How much was a pack of cigarettes at that time? As recent as 1970 I remember buying cartons of cigarettes for $2 each in Indiana. ------------------------------ Are you sure about that price in New York? That's a lot more than the US$400 or so that I recall having paid for an M-4 and 50mm Summicron in 1968, even taking into consideration war-time scarcity and pent-up demand. ===================== Just a guess about the price in New York in 1945-46. I wasn't old enough to afford more than a Kodak Brownie then. I recall being told by old timers that a good IIIc with a Summitar would sell for more than $500. I did buy a brand new IIIf with a collapsible Summicron and a first edition M3 (DS, no frame selector) with a F3.5 Elmar at a duty free airport shop in Europe for $254 USD each in 1954. I still have and use both cameras and kept the price receipts to prove their value to customs. But then you could send a letter for 3 cents, a subway ride was a nickle, a new car cost less than $3000 and the Sunday New York Times was 30 cents. At today's prices, the equivalent camera would cost over $2000. Larry Z