COST of living crisis? What crisis!?
The results of the latest Leitz Photographica Auction in June have been announced, once again confirming that there’s plenty of people out there with plenty of money to spend, and especially so when it comes to vintage camera gear.
The standout of the auction was a Leica 250 GG Reporter which managed to fetch the highest price of the event – a whopping 900,000 Euros including buyer’s premium ($1.43 million AUD).
Held twice a year, Leitz Photographica Auction bills itself as one of the world’s largest and most renowned auctions for vintage cameras and accessories.
Among the 100 items up for auction this time around were photographs created by Harold Edgerton, Raoul Hausmann, Imogen Cunningham, Helmut Newton, Ansel Adams and Walker Evans.
The Leica 250 GG Reporter was one of only 92 Leica Reporter cameras equipped with a separate electric motor drive, with Leica knowing of only around 16 that still survive.
According to Leica, the German Luftwaffe’s infamous STU-KA dive bombers primarily used these cameras for aerial reconnaissance, however as the drives were typically permanently attached to their host planes, soldiers would swap out the cameras rather than deal with the entire assembly.
