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Leica 35mm Model A

National Museum of American History

Object Details

Ernst Leitz
Description
This camera has the all black finish of early Leicas. Its most important feature is the 50mm f/3.5 Anastigmat lens. This lens name only appears on the null series Leicas and the first production batch up to about serial no. 300. The lens has the original lens cap. Like all early Leica lenses, it collapses into the camera body, but unlike later lenses, lines on the lens mount and body have to be aligned for the lens mount to collapse.
The early Anastigmat lens was a complex five element design with the three rear elements cemented together. The lens in this example is very cloudy. This is typical of early Leica camera lenses where the elements were cemented together with Canada balsam that has deteriorated with time.
This camera was donated by Eugine Anderegg, at one time chief representative for Leitz optics in North America and a long time editor of Leica magazine. This camera's serial number is 149.
Location
Currently not on view
1925
ID Number
PG.007253
accession number
256821
catalog number
7253
serial number
149
149
Object Name
camera
place made
Germany: Hesse, Wetzlar
See more items in
Work and Industry: Photographic History
Leica Cameras
Photography
National Museum of American History
Record ID
nmah_1145745
Metadata Usage (text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a9-cbd8-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Related Content

  • 1925: A Year in the Collections

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International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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