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Rare cameras

Rare cameras will click for Tamarkin auction Nov. 17

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
Rare cameras
Leica ‘Postwar Standard’ with Wollensak 50mm lens. Tamarkin Rare Camera Auctions image

CHICAGO – A love of photography and dedication to camera collecting—especially the Leica—is what drives Tamarkin Camera and Tamarkin Rare Camera Auctions to seek out the world’s rare and intriguing photographic collectibles. Tamarkin’s 37th Rare Camera Auction taking place in New Haven, Connecticut, on Saturday, Nov. 17, offers some of the most desirable Leica and other fine collectible cameras ever assembled under one roof. Absentee and Internet live bidding is available through LiveAuctioneers.

A holy grail for Leica collectors in the 348-lot auction is the Leica “Postwar Standard” with a Wollensak 50mm Velostigmat f3.5 lens, Nr. 496819, engraved “E. Leitz, Inc. New York.” After the World War II, E. Leitz New York assembled the Standard cameras (elsewhere called Model E) using IIIc shells with a circular cover where the slow speed dial would be and the telltale strap lugs. Only 537 were made, all in silver chrome finish, between 1947 and 1950. The rare rangefinder camera (above) has a $4,000-$6,000 estimate.

Another rare Leica is an M2-S in black enamel finish with body cap. The factory “L” seal is intact and the shutter is working. This gorgeous camera made in 1965 is one of only 300 made and has a $7,000-$9,000 estimate.

Rare cameras
Leica M2-S, Nr. 1130253, in black enamel. Tamarkin Rare Camera Auctions image

A Nikon I camera with a 50mm Nikkor-Q.C f3.5 lens and a rare matching Yellow 3 filter, lens cap and original ever-ready case has a $15,000-$25,000 estimate. Both the camera base plate and the rear of the case are engraved “Made in Occupied Japan.” Nippon Kogaku K.K. made the Nikon I for a little over one year (1948) with a total production run of about 750 cameras.

Rare cameras
Nikon I camera with 50mm Nikkor-Q.C f3.5 lens, matching Yellow 3 filter, lens cap and original ever-ready case. Tamarkin Rare Camera Auctions image

Since 1996, Tamarkin Rare Camera Auctions has been auctioning rare and collectible cameras and photographic ephemera to buyers and collectors around the world. And, as the largest auction house in the Western Hemisphere dedicated to photographic rarities, Tamarkin is a world-renowned specialist in Leica cameras, lenses and accessories. The company’s auction catalogs are themselves collected, and used worldwide as a reference tool and price guide.

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