A prototype of one of the world’s most famous cameras will be auctioned this summer, and it could make millions of pounds.
Leica are legendary among photographers, and the Leica 0-Series was the precursor to their first mass-produced model, the Leica 1.
This June, one of those numbered prototypes, the 112 from the Leica–0 Series will be auctioned in Germany at the Leica Century Event that celebrates the centenary of the Leica 1.
Experts describe the machine as one of the rarest cameras in history.
The cameras were the work of Ernst Leitz II’s optics company.
He authorised a run of prototypes from 1923, which have the serial numbers 101 to 125. Although there was a mixed response to them, two yeas later the legendary Leica 1 followed them off the production lines and into history.
Clearly numbered, the 0-series weren’t universally loved but they paved the way for all of modern photography.
Around a dozen of the prototypes are know to survive and they are among the most coveted cameras in the world.
Recent sales have all topped 2 million Euros, around £1,690,000 or $2,180,000.
In 2018 number 122 made 2.4 million euros ($2,617,000) to become the world’s most expensive camera at the time.
In 2022, that record was smashed by 0 series number 105 which sold for around $15.7 million.
“A 0-series for sale certainly draws the attention of the international collectors‘ scene,” Alexander Sedlak, Managing Director of Leitz Photographica Auction told Leica Rumours. “These prototypes laid the foundation for modern photography. To auction such a legendary camera, honoring the 100th anniversary of the Leica I, is a particular pleasure.”
The auction is just one event of a week of celebrations at the Leica headquarters in Wetzlar.
The full auction catalogue will be published in May, the sale takes place on June 27.
