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An extraordinarily rare Leica Luxus II, 1932, image 1
An extraordinarily rare Leica Luxus II, 1932, image 2
An extraordinarily rare Leica Luxus II, 1932, image 3
An extraordinarily rare Leica Luxus II, 1932, image 4
An extraordinarily rare Leica Luxus II, 1932, image 5
An extraordinarily rare Leica Luxus II, 1932, image 6
An extraordinarily rare Leica Luxus II, 1932, image 7
An extraordinarily rare Leica Luxus II, 1932, image 8
An extraordinarily rare Leica Luxus II, 1932, image 9
An extraordinarily rare Leica Luxus II, 1932, image 10
An extraordinarily rare Leica Luxus II, 1932, image 11
An extraordinarily rare Leica Luxus II, 1932, image 12
An extraordinarily rare Leica Luxus II, 1932, image 13
An extraordinarily rare Leica Luxus II, 1932, image 14
An extraordinarily rare Leica Luxus II, 1932, image 15
Thumbnail of An extraordinarily rare Leica Luxus II, 1932, image 1
Thumbnail of An extraordinarily rare Leica Luxus II, 1932, image 2
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Thumbnail of An extraordinarily rare Leica Luxus II, 1932, image 4
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Thumbnail of An extraordinarily rare Leica Luxus II, 1932, image 8
Thumbnail of An extraordinarily rare Leica Luxus II, 1932, image 9
Thumbnail of An extraordinarily rare Leica Luxus II, 1932, image 10
Thumbnail of An extraordinarily rare Leica Luxus II, 1932, image 11
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Lot 1681Y
An extraordinarily rare Leica Luxus II,
1932,
The Leica and Classic Camera Sale
22 November 2013, 18:00 HKT
Hong Kong

Sold for HK$4,840,000 inc. premium

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An extraordinarily rare Leica Luxus II, 1932,

Serial No. 88840. with 50mm f/3.5 Elmar lens, No.137447, with unusual bell-push release, camera with lavatory seat type range finder housing (with recess under the shutter dial), lens scaled in feet the base plate engraved with "Open" and "Close", body with faux lizard leather cover, together with Leica Luxus crocodile camera case, brass fastening clip

Footnotes

According to Leitz factory records, only four Luxus Leica IIs were made with serial numbers: 88840, 94573, 97313 and 98248. The whereabouts of the other three examples is currently unknown.

In addition, two special presentation Leica II's were also made. Number 75,000 was presented to Professor August Piccard, one of the pioneers of the exploration of the stratosphere and later designer of the "Bathyscape". Number 100,000 was presented to Dr Leon Frobenius, a leading explorer of Central America.

Although the crocodile ever-ready case appears in various advertisements for Leica Luxus, this is the first example ever to come to light.

Literature:
VAN HASBROECK, Paul-Henry, Leica in Colour, Philip Wilson Publications, 1997, pp.34-35.
LAGER, James L., Leica - An Illustrated History, Vol. I, Lager Limited Editions, 1993, p.27.

Provenance:
The British owner of this camera was a keen amateur photographer who acquired this Leica soon after World War II and used it for many years.

Additional information