HONG KONG.- Bonhams will hold a unique trail-blazing sale of Leica cameras in Hong Kong on November 23, the first such auction sale of its kind.
The sale will be on view at Bonhams Knightsbridge, Montpelier Street, London SW7 1HH from the 21st-24th October before being shipped to Hong Kong for sale.
The sale includes over 250 lots of Leica cameras and accessories from two major private collections including items from the estate of the late Dr George Daniels who was undoubtedly the most famous and well-respected watchmaker this world has known. Since 1969, Dr Daniels worked hard to successfully continue and revive the world of hand made mechanical watches which were threatened by the emergence of the quartz watch. The proceeds from the Daniels collection will fund the George Daniels Educational Trust that furthers the higher education of pupils studying the disciplines of horology, engineering, medicine or building construction.
The famous French photographer, Henri Cartier-Bresson, considered to be the father of modern photojournalism, used Leica cameras throughout his career. The robust and diminutive design of Leica made it ideal for his “life reportage” style that influenced generations of photographers who followed.
The legendary Leica camera brand was first brought to the attention of the public at the Leipzig Trade Fair of 1925 when the German scientific instrument company, Ernst Leitz, launched the Leica I, a revolutionary full-frame 35mm film, lightweight camera invented by the company's brilliant engineer and designer Oskar Barnack that was based on his 1913 prototype UR-Leica.
Leitz continued to launch innovative camera models, introducing a lens coupled rangefinder camera for measuring object to film distance as well as mounting interchangeable screw thread lenses, the most famous of which throughout the decades prior to WWII was the 5cm Elmar f/3.5, still made in collapsible form as the 50mm f/2.8 Elmar-M. These small format compact film cameras are beautifully made, expensive and continue to appealed to a wide variety of both amateur and professional photographers right up to today.
