Super-rare Leica-Gewehr worth €150,000
I started on the trail of the Maharaja of Jodhpur, Prince Hanwant Singh's mystery gun camera (See the Maharaja's Gun Camera post) sometime back that I found in an old popular mechanics article from the 50's and I think I've found a match! It's one of only 12 ever made Leica-Gewehr's. Gewehr stands for gun in German and was paired with an Ernst Leitz Westlicht camera. Ernst Leitz was the founder of what is now known as Leica. Its just gone up for auction and the starting price is set at €150,000, and it’s expected to fetch up to €350,000 (USD$394,000). This particular rifle camera was originally delivered to Ernst Leitz New York sometime between 1937 and 1939. It was then purchased and owned by a Mr. Pojol, who lived in Venezuela from 1937 through 1989. The Maharaja must have owned one of these 12 prototypes made in 1937. The timeline fits at any rate. Some of its rare custom features include a modified baseplate on the Leica Standard camera body to fit it to the rifle and a modified housing for the Wetzlar PLOOT mirror and custom bayonet-mount Wetzlar viewfinder, engraved with the legend "Ernst Leitz Wetzlar Germany".It also has two lenses, a Telyt 4.5/20 centimeters No. 272854 with hood, and a Hektor 4.5/13.5cm No. 326299 with hood in short focusing mount and matching red maker's box.
