Famous Photographers' Leicas: The Collector's Holy Grail?
It’s a point of personal pride among Leica fanatics like us that many of the world’s greatest photographers used Leica cameras and lenses to capture many of the most memorable and widely circulated images shot over the past 90 years. Indeed, practically every serious photographer knows that renowned photojournalists like Henri Cartier-Bresson, Alfred Eisenstaedt, David Douglas Duncan, Ernst Haas, Elliott Erwitt, Sebastião Salgado, and countless others relied on Leicas to create their art and capture their vision. Holding or even seeing the actual cameras and lenses these master
photographers used in the course of their work is a source of endless fascination among camera aficionados and collectors. That’s why a battered Leica M3, M2, or vintage MP with 90% of its original finish gone would fetch a princely price at auction if you could prove that a household name photographer actually owned it, used it to cover a major event or capture a well-known image. Proving it, of course, is the rub, and mere attribution alone, absent credible documentation, will not automatically transform a beat-up old Leica into a priceless museum piece.
Henri Cartier-Bresson’s first Leica I
The main problem with documenting famous photographers’ Leicas is that hardly any of them bear special markings. The vast majority were anonymous production models without distinctive serial numbers, and most that are engraved with renowned photographer’s names are either outright fakes or post-facto homages to the photographer created at the behest of the camera owner. There are exceptions, such as the commemorative models Leitz created to honor Alfred Eisenstaedt and David Douglas Duncan, but these are exceedingly rare and very well documented. Generally there is no way to be 100% sure that an “ordinary” Leica was actually owned and used by a famous photographer, but there are ways of proving it beyond a reasonable doubt that are accepted in commercial transactions. These include: a notarized and certified copy of a contemporary bill of sale from an authorized Leica dealer that includes the name of the photographer and the serial number of the camera; a notarized written statement by the present owner of the camera that he/she acquired it directly from the photographer or photographer’s spouse who stated that it belonged to/was used by the photographer in question; independent corroboration such as photos of the photographer holding the camera showing distinctive identifying features, etc.
Eisenstaedt and his screw-mount Leica IIIa’s
Then there’s the crucial question: who qualifies as a famous photographer? Certainly Oskar Barnack, the Father of the Leica, was the first Leica photographer ever, a camera design genius, and a brilliant inventor and innovator. But was he a great photographer? I’d give him the the nod. While he didn’t create a body of work on a par with the great photojournalists of the 20th century, his pictures of life in Wetzlar before and during the flood are almost always charming, superbly composed, and masterfully executed. He intuitively saw the potential of the Leica for capturing life on the fly and immortalizing decisive moments. And his images certainly influenced the dedicated photographers, both professionals and enthusiasts, who succeeded him.
Possibly Oskar Barnacks personal Ur-Leica
Gary Winograd’s Leica M4
Another fascinating subset of famous Leica photographers are vintage and contemporary celebrities. None of them qualify as a “famous photographer,” even singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer Lenny Kravitz, who created the fashionably distressed custom Leica bearing his name. The earliest one I could come up with is the great Amelia Earhart, the captivating but ill-fated aviator who owned and used a Leica I. The most renowned: probably HRH Queen Elizabeth II, “a collector of high quality sophisticated cameras” who was presented with a specially engraved Leica M3 by Leitz in 1958, and chose the photo of herself holding it as the central image on a postage stamp issued in 1986 to commemorate her 60th birthday. Other more recent celebrity Leica shooters: Jeff Bridges, Miley Cyrus, Scarlett Johansson, and Brad Pitt.
I am deeply indebted to my dear friend, colleague, and consummate Leica historian James Lager for this amazing story of a genuine famous photographer’s Leica and his unexpected encounter with two great photojournalists of their era. This is a lightly edited, slightly enhanced version of the delightful first person narrative first published under the title ‘A Man and His Leica’ in the LHSA Viewfinder issue #4 of 2004 and it includes a few additional observations by the author.
“In October 1979, E. Leitz, Inc. of Rockleigh, New Jersey arranged for me to visit Alfred Eisenstaedt at his office at the Time-Life Building in New York City. The express purpose of my visit: to inspect and photograph a special model of the Leica M3 (the first M3E) that E. Leitz Wetzlar had prepared and presented to Eisenstaedt around 1955. The camera was described as being essentially a pre-production version of the original Leica MP designed for photojournalists and fitted with a Lecavit MP winder. By the time I reached the Time-Life Building and told the receptionist that I had an appointment with Mr. Eisenstaedt, my excitement was at a fever pitch which certainly hadn’t subsided as I was escorted into Eisenstaedt’s office a few minutes later.
It was a tiny room crammed floor to ceiling with yellow Kodak printing paper boxes. Neatly written on the box ends were the contents of each—the White House, the Kennedys, Ethiopia, etc., and I instantly realized that these boxes surely contained Eisenstaedt’s prints accumulated over his decades as a photojournalist. I almost went numb when I realized that what I was looking at represented this great man’s entire professional career and all I could do was stand there in awe of what he had achieved.
Finally Eisenstaedt appeared and I was momentarily stunned when I saw how short he was—compact but wiry. He very politely introduced himself and proceeded to locate his presentation M3E, which was residing at the back of a desk drawer. The drawer was sticking and he gave it a good yank. As he did the camera slid forward hitting the front of the drawer with a resounding clunk and almost fell out onto the floor. Fortunately he moved like a cat, preventing it from suffering any additional impact. Eisenstaedt nonchalantly handed the camera to me, saying, ‘This must be the one you want to see.’ Indeed it was and I asked if I could take a picture of it. Permission was granted. There was no lighting whatsoever so I perched it on a window ledge using typing paper to provide some fill and shot it with my Leicaflex SL and 60mm f/2.8 Macro-Elmarit R lens. After photographing his camera I presented him with a copy of my just published Leica Illustrated Guide II and he briefly turned to the section on viewfinders. He muttered his amazement that that he was able to effectively utilize ‘that universal finder that turned the world upside down when you rotated the camera to take a vertical shot,’ but he obviously meant the VIDOM finder he often used.
Alfred Eisenstaedt with M3E
At that moment I heard a voice behind us asking, "And who might you be?" The person directing the question at me turned out to be anther legendary Leica photographer, Carl Mydans. I introduced myself, but was suddenly at a loss for words when I realized I was in the presence of two of the world’s most respected photojournalists. The three of us conversed for a few minutes and then it was time to depart, but at the last second I got an inspiration. I asked Mr. Eisenstaedt if he would stand in front of me, holding his priceless prototype Leica as if he were taking my photograph, first a horizontal, then a vertical. He kindly obliged and I nervously managed to fire off a few frames, which thankfully are reasonably sharp. I will forever cherish my memories of this meeting—truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
Finally, herewith some housekeeping details on the illustrations. The photo James Lager took of the Eisenstaedt’s presentation M3E number 1 was first published in his Leica Illustrated Guide III in 1979, but he never printed the frames of Eisenstaedt holding the camera in shooting position until 25 years after he first peered though his Leicaflex SL to take the shot. For the record, the negatives were scanned and printed by his dear friend Tsun Tam who removed some distracting background elements with Photoshop. The original Leica M3 serial number 1,000,0001 in chrome (not shown) was presented to Eisenstaedt in 1960 at a ceremony at the Time-Life, Building. Years later, in the late ‘80s, E. Leitz, Rockleigh decided to further honor Eisenstaedt by producing a second one with same serial number in gold plate.”
Alfred Eisenstaedt with M3E
Alfred Eisenstaedt with M3E
Leica M3E-1 in 1979
The 4th M3D Leica made for David Douglas Ducan