posted Thursday, April 24, 2025 at 3:28 PM EDT
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the legendary Leica I, Leica is hosting a special pop-up gallery in New York as part of the Leitz Photographica Auction Roadshow. This unique event will take place from May 2 to 3 at 405 West 13th Street, directly opposite the Leica Store New York, showcasing the company’s extensive history in camera design and innovation.
Central to the exhibition is an important and rare camera: the Leica 0-Series No. 112. This prototype, created in 1923, is one of the last surviving models and came before the production of the Leica I. It was personally accepted by Oskar Barnack, the inventor of the small-format Leica camera. This remarkable vintage camera is expected to attract a lot of attention at the auction, starting with bids at €800,000 (around $872,500) and projected to reach between $1.6 and $2.2 million.
Alexander Sedlak, Managing Director of Leitz Photographica Auction, highlighted the significance of this occasion in the collector community. “The vintage camera auction organized by Leica is the largest globally and has been drawing collectors and investors for years,” he stated. “These cameras are highly sought after and serve as benchmarks for the historical camera market, with Leica leading the way in rare models within its collection.”
Additional remarkable items will also be showcased, including a Leica I Mod. A Anastigmat, with serial number 225. This camera, delivered to the British advertising firm Ogilvy in 1925, is thought to be the very first Leica to arrive in the UK.
Another highlight is the Leica M3 with serial number 700,000. This extraordinary camera was presented to renowned Austrian skiing pioneer and photographer Stefan Kruckenhauser, celebrated for his striking high-contrast images of alpine life and credited for creating the “Wedeln” skiing technique, which highly influences modern ski photography. This significant M3, featured in several publications and noted for being the first in the M-series, will have a starting auction bid of $22,000.
Not Just an Auction
Beyond showcasing camera hardware, Leica’s celebration also embraces the art of photography. The pop-up gallery will display 100 significant historical images, curated by Karin Rehn-Kaufmann, Art Director and Chief Representative of Leica Galleries International. Across the street, the Leica Store and Gallery New York will present an exhibition featuring renowned photographers Bruce Davidson and Sara Messinger. This special exhibition, part of Leica’s “100 Years of Leica” celebration, showcases both iconic figures and emerging talents in photography.
From unique cameras to iconic imagery, this event serves as a beautiful homage to a century of Leica’s innovative impact on the world of photography.
