Leica have always had a mystique about them, they were the first 35mm cameras ever developed and the ancestor of all that followed, the whole system has always been geared to offer its best performance at maximum aperture, making it ideally suited to the natural light medium, which in turn enabled the Leica system to dominate reportage photography for decades.  In addition to this, the extremely quiet shutter lent itself to the candid genre. Many of the seminal images of all genres of the past hundred years have been created on these exquisitely engineered, softly spoken and remarkably understated cameras. 

The first ideas of the Leica system were developed by Oskar Barnack of the Leitz company around 1913, but it was 1925 before the first tentative serial production models were offered.  The Interchangeable lens system and the L39 mount were introduced on the Leica I in 1930, but so few were made, this was pretty much a prototype, the Leica II followed in 1932 and The Leica III, also referred to as the Model F, became the template for all future models in 1933.  Over this 20 year period, Modern photography as we now know it, grew from conception to adulthood.  

This example is the later IIIa also referred to as the Model G, introduced in 1935 and produced until 1940, so this lovely 1937 example is was made shortly before Leicas output would be commandeered for the German war effort.  The IIIa has a special place in many hearts, and for good reason, these cameras are as usable now as when they were built, capable of that Leica magic which noone else has ever been able to match.

It always astonished me to find a mechanical device which can work so well for so long, this camera was born into a different world, sold in, the twilight of Pre War Germany, it has lived through a world war, the post war austerity years, has probably spent a good few years in the bottom of drawers and camera bags and must have fallen in and out of use a dozen times, yet here it is, raring to go  and ready to shoot the images of this, its 80th(!) year.  It is a testament to Oskar Barnack's vision which defies imagination.

Cosmetics do show its eighty years a little as you can see, but only lightly, the body has been recovered at some point, but all the shutter seeds sound good and it feels every bit as solid as a Leica should. The all important viewfinder and rangefinder are very clear and the rangefinder focus works very happily.  This particular IIIa is thoroughly original and the camera does not appear to ever have been modified, restored or tarted up as so many others have. This is one vintage Leica which is fully functional, ready to use and with a modicum of care, will without doubt still be making amazing images in 2097!

The camera will be supplied as pictured, just pop on a lens and get shooting!

So there you have it, a truly lovely Leica IIIa, which as you can see is begging to get out and shoot, despite it's pensionable status.

Of course, Leica equipment is always in demand and examples of this vintage take us well into the realm of the collector, meaning that when you, or possibly your grandchildren come to sell it on, you will like as not see more than you paid for it here,  making it one of life's more pleasurable investments!

Hopefully, the description and photos will answer any questions you may have, but please feel free to drop me an email if anything needs clarifying further.