1935

purenvdesign

purenvdesign

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Joe
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Thought I would share my new toy with you all, I love it :D

1935 Leica IIIa with Leitz Elmar f3.5/5cm

LeicaIIIaSmall.jpg
 
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wow....that looks in very good condition.

Have you run a film through it yet?
 
I believe Andy Snap bought one of these when they first came out, fed up of lugging his old plate camera around and he kept getting his comedy moustache caught in the tripod :D
 
Harrumph, how dare you sir,it was a Leica II.......
 
It's in amazing condition, better condition than my Canon AE-1! Just putting a film through it now, so I'll keep you posted.

I think the reason why the camera is in such good condition, is because of it's history/owners. According to the seller it was initially owned by a man called Friedrich Zschwäckel. After doing some HEAVY research into the him, I found out some interesting facts. This may be boring, but I think it's interesting :D

After leaving school, Zschwäckel became a teacher of photography in Munich alongside Heinrich Hoffman (Later to be Hitlers main photographer). Being half italian, he was called up to fight in the Second Italio-Ethiopian war but refused to fight and was sentenced to death.

At the beginning of the second world war he was invited to meet Hitler and Mussolini (maybe to take photos?), who pardoned him of his sentence and became an SS-Kriegsberichter (SS War Reporter). Promoted to Obersturmführer, he took photos in several major campaigns (Blitzkrieg, Eastfront, Normandy, Ardennes) jumping from division to division. According to his photos, he fought/reported with the following divisions:

6.SS-Gebirgs-Division "Nord"
3.SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "Totenkopf"
2.SS-Panzer-Division "Das Reich"
12.SS-Panzer-Division "Hitlerjugend"

Zschwäckel was awarded the EK1 (Iron Cross First Class), but I havent found out why yet. He was most likely awarded the medal for his valuable work as a propaganda photographer.

Shortly after the war he moved to Argentina (Probably due to war crimes in his division) and continued to publish his work through middlemen.

Well, although that was a bit of a history lesson, I find it fascinating. You may all stop yawning now :D
 
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Nothing boring about that my friend. You will find that in this little enclave of peace, civility and creativity all photo related facts are considered interesting. Thanks Joe for going to the trouble of finding out and sharing the info and by the way it is a stunning camera. Looking forward to seeing some pics from it.
 
So how did a guy who worked in 4 different german units throughout the war keep his camera in such lovely condition? I'd almost expect the dent where it stopped a bullet and saved his life!

Seriously, that was interesting, but it does raise the question.
 
wow - great to have a camera with such history! You wonder what kind of photos it's taken...
 
Very nice camera, fascinating and intriguing tale. Looking forward to seeing some images from that fine Elmar!
 
I really don't know, it's crazy. There is some sign of wear on the edges of the chrome but it's hardly noticeable. It did come with its original case, perhaps in combat it never got taken out. I was thinking perhaps the Vulcanite had been replaced?

Anyway, I would imagine someone of that rank (Equivalent to Lieutenant) in those 'prestigious' divisions with a history of loving/working cameras would take great care in his weapon of choice - the Leica.

This is an image of him I have found in Normandy, He definitely has a Leica (could be this one) around his neck but it has a different lens on, the Leitz Summar f2 50mm.

FriedrichFritzZschackel.jpg
 
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I don't know the history of ownership of any of my cameras but would love to know.

Have to agree with Chris though, it looks in too good condition to have been in regular military use. The photograph of him with a Leica shows it's only half cased so the top appears to be in contact with items on his belt and would surely over time suffer damage as a result.

Maybe your model if owned by him was a back up body, and with Leica's impeccable quality got little use?
 
Most probably, they were required to carry more than one camera. According to the books, any spare equipment, tools and film were kept in a leather map case/satchel on the belt.

I got my test film developed this morning, stupidly for half of them I forgot to extend the lens leaving me with a blurry vignetted mess. Luckily I wasn't taking photos that I care about, I just wanted to see if it worked!

Taken in very low light f3.5 1/60. A little blurry but expected.

stable.jpg
 
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I did the same thing, left the lens in on numerous shots, also looked through the wrong window and thought I'd nailed the focus...doh!

Andy
 
Just got myself a Leitz Focomat 1C :D After working using DSLRs for as long I can remember, I think I'm turning to the darkside.
 
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