‘Previously-Unknown’ Leica Camera Sold For 60 Times Its Expected Price

The Wetzlar Camera Auctions house has just hosted a collection of Leica cameras for sale, one of which piqued particular interest among the buyers.
 
The 24 by 24 Leica M prototype was sold on October 8 for US$670,000. The ‘M’ monogram here stands for “Messsucher,” the German jargon term for a device that combines a rangefinder and a viewfinder.
 
The camera dates back to 1954 when the M series was first introduced with the ‘M3’ and was made to capture 52 images on a roll of film instead of the 36 that the typical 35mm format would have taken.
 
Funnily enough, this version doesn’t include a rangefinder and viewfinder, as its name alludes to. And according to the auction house, it only holds a ‘B’ standard in its current quality. 
 
Though it has its shortcomings, it was still the star of the show, mainly because it was “previously unknown.” In an email to Robb Report, the Managing Director at Wetzlar Camera Auction, Lars Netopil, notes that in the last 35 years of research on Leica, a version with a square format has not been discovered. 
 
Prior to the auction, it was estimated to fetch between US$8,000 and US$10,000. However, it went on to procure almost 60 times that amount. 

 
 
 
[via Robb Report and DIY Photography, cover image via Weltzer Camera Auctions]