BLOG (chronological order)
The Leica M3 Origin Story
The Leica M3, which commenced production in 1953 and was officially released in 1954. Indeed, were it not for World War II the landmark Leica M3 may well have debuted in the early to mid 1940s!
E. Leitz, Inc. New York: A lot more than an overseas branch office
The New York branch of Ernst Leitz GmbH, Wetzlar, Germany was founded in 1893 by Ludwig Leitz, the eldest son of Ernst Leitz I. Ludwig Leitz envisioned the company as an international enterprise, and he had the uncommon foresight to understand that the United States, and its largest city and leading commercial hub, was the perfect place to plant the Leitz flag.
Leica Cassettes: The Inconvenience of Perfection
n the beginning days of 35mm photography, you could not go to a store and buy a roll of film. Initially, all 35mm still photographers used reloadable metal cassettes that had to be individually loaded with film cut from bulk rolls (and the film end had to be cut with a suitable leader for the take-up spool). By the late 1920s you could buy pre-spooled 12- 18- and 36-exposure lengths of film in foil packets and simply insert them into the cassettes, a convenience that proved to be very popular.