Colorful Limited Edition & Custom Leicas
Image by Jason Schneider
From elegant to over-the-top, they celebrate the Leica’s unique heritage
Leica has offered special editions ever since the Leica Deluxe (more commonly known as the Leica Luxus) of circa 1930-1931. Essentially an exquisitely gold-plated Leica I (or A), the Luxus was offered in a choice of 4 coverings, including snakeskin. E. Leitz Wetzlar turned out only about 100 genuine examples, and when they brought forth the first coupled rangefinder model, the Leica II (or D), in 1932, they made a very small number of Leica II Luxus models on special order, which have now attained the status of museum pieces. Leica aficionados who wanted something less flashy but still distinctive could have ordered a standard black-finished Leica I with a handsome brown cowhide covering. In all cases, fakes are far more plentiful than genuine originals so caveat emptor.
Unbeknownst to many Leica fans, all through the ‘20s and well into the ‘30s, Leica would happily fulfill the desires of well-heeled Leica fans that wanted a Leica with special features or a non-standard finish. None of these options (with the exception of feature upgrades, such as adding a coupled rangefinder or slow speeds) were listed in the Leica catalog. But if you placed an order with an authorized Leica dealer, and were willing to pay the extra cost, your wishes would most likely be accommodated. As a result, there are many “factory one-off” screw-mount Leicas afoot that can fetch princely prices if you can prove their provenance by citing factory records.
There was a United Nations Leica M3 that came out in 1957, but the postwar period of Special Edition Leicas didn’t really take off until the Leica 50th Anniversary models of 1975-1976 commemorating the introduction of the Leica I in 1925. They sported an elegant 50 Jahre logo complete with a laurel leaves motif and the cameras so adorned, including the Leica M4, the Leica CL, and the Leica R3, typically fetch premium prices. Notable Special Edition milestones include the Leica M6 LHSA of 1988, celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Leica Historical Society (now known as the International Leica Society while still retaining the venerable LHSA logo), an edition of 1,250 platinum plated “150 Jahre Photographie/75 Jahre Leica Photographie” M6’s in 1989, and the very limited (200 pieces) Leica M6 Columbo of 1992 commemorating the 500th Anniversary of Christopher Columbus (actually Cristoforo Colombo) discovering the sea route and making the voyage to the Western Hemisphere. This attractively understated limited edition was produced at the request of the noted Italian Leica dealer, Polyphoto S.P.A, Opera, Lombardia, Italy.
Other more recent Limited Edition Leicas include the Leica M Edition 60 of 2014 commemorating the 60th anniversary of the landmark Leica M3 of 1954. The set included a Leica M-P digital camera (Type 240) and a 35mm f/1.4 Summilux-M ASPH lens, both in special versions created by Audi Design in homage to the original M3. The M-P Limited Edition Safari of 2015 was as you’d expect, finished in olive green enamel, long a Leica hallmark for ruggedized cameras designed to withstand the rigors of hard field use. The amusing 2016 Leica M-P ”grip” designed by artist/photographer Rolf Sachs sports an eye-catching texturized covering that provides “a unique visual and tactile experience” and was available in a choice of bright colors. It also came with a 35mm f/1.4 Summilux-M ASPH lens. And who can forget the Leica Correspondent, an artfully “distressed” black digital Leica M-P designed by Lenny Kravitz, musician, actor, designer, and dyed-in-the-wool Leica fanatic? His unique concept: a camera that offers luxury and exclusivity in an artificially aged package. The full set consists of a Leica M-P digital rangefinder camera, a Leica Summicron-M 35 mm f/2 ASPH, and a Leica Summilux-M 50 mm f/1.4 ASPH, all in a bespoke case. The special edition was limited to 125 sets worldwide and has become a premier collectible as well as a great user outfit.
Finally, my personal favorite: the Leica M Monochrom “Stealth Edition” designed by Marcus Wainwright, founder, and owner of the acclaimed fashion label “rag & bone, that was just released in March 2018”. Wainwright, who, like me, often shoots black and white film in his M6, created the “Stealth Edition” on the basis of an M Monochrom (Typ 246) and a matching Summicron-M 35 mm f/2 ASPH. Limited to 125 units, his object was to create a camera that takes discreet unobtrusiveness to the extreme. A special scratch-resistant, matte paint is used to make the surface finish as black as possible while the camera’s leather trim in jet-black is made from an extremely smooth full-grain cowhide that offers excellent grip. Key engravings on the camera and lens are intentionally highlighted with a special fluorescent paint that glows in the dark, allowing faster setting of the aperture and focusing distance in low light. The lens, in the classic street photographer’s focal length of 35mm, is finished with the same special paint as the camera body. Nice.
Leica À La Carte, the ultimate iteration of the Custom Leica concept, allows users to select the finish, covering, personalized logos and engravings, and specified mechanical features from an extensive list of options to create their own bespoke Leica that is then built to their order by the factory. In a way, it’s an implicit nod to the way things were done back in the day, only now it’s no longer tacit and de facto. The À La Carte program, launched at Photokina 2004, applied to 2 models—the still current analog MP, and the M7, (now sadly out of production, but basically an M6 with an electromagnetically controlled shutter.) In addition to a choice of black paint, black chrome, and satin chrome metal finish, and a range of Vulcanite and leather options in a stunning variety of colors and textures, you could specify the range/viewfinder magnification—wide 0.58x, standard 0.72x, or high-magnification 0.85x (best accuracy with 50mm and longer lenses, but not optimum for wide-angles.) Finally, you could add standard or personal custom engravings, such as your signature.. When you calculated all the possible permutations, you literally had thousands of possible choices in configuring your personal Leica using Leica’s handy-dandy configurator.
At the moment the Leica À La Carte program applies to the digital Leica M (typ 240) and you have a choice of classic black lacquer finish, abrasion resistant black chrome, and classic silver chrome, which showcases the elegance of the Leica form. To this, you can add a rich variety of leather trim options in a range of colors and textures, and add custom engravings such as monograms and family crests or omit them entirely. Whatever combination you choose to express your aesthetic vision, you will have created a personalized one-off functional work of art that also embodies the Leica heritage. In the end, the fact that it is a Leica and performs like a Leica may be more important than anything else.