In the course of the celebrations at the opening of the new Leica complex in the Leitz Park in Wetzlar, WestLicht, the world’s leading auction house for vintage cameras, will be holding a unique auction in collaboration with Leica Camera AG. Guests will be invited to bid on 100 rare treasures from all epochs of technical progress at Leica and 100 highlights from the world of Leica photography at the auction on 23 May 2014.

The collection begins with an extremely rare telescope constructed by Carl Kellner in 1852 and continues through the ages to modern rarities that embrace the entire history of Leitz and Leica: a Leica I Mod. A with Anastigmat lens (the first commercially produced model), the original Luxus Leica, a Leica 250 with an electric motor drive, the New York RIFLE camera, a prototype of the Leica M3, a black Leica MP and cameras formerly used by famous Magnum photographers (Henri Cartier-Bresson, Rene Burri, Abbas, Bruno Barbey, Elliott Erwitt) are followed by 100 lots of photographs with Leica connections. Amongst these are original prints from the legacy of Oskar Barnack and extremely rare vintage prints from the most famous Leica photographers.

A ‘100 years of Leica’ auction catalogue published for the event offers over 450 pages of exciting and fascination surprises, historical details and inside information and lets readers immerse themselves in the development and history of the Leica brand. The catalogue will also be published as a special edition limited to only 100 copies. Various experts helped and gave their expertise, curated by Lars Netopil for the technical part and Hans-Michael Koetzle for the photographs.

Please register to attend the auction here: 100years-auction@westlicht.com.

About WestLicht

Over the past 12 years, the WestLicht auction house in Vienna has established itself as a constant of the international scene and has auctioned an outstanding selection of milestones and icons from the history of cameras and photography, including the world’s first ever commercially manufactured camera, the Giroux Daguerréotype from 1839. WestLicht has also recorded a multitude of spectacular record prices for Leica products. Since the 21st auction in May 2012, WestLicht holds the world record for the most expensive camera of all time – the Leica 0-Series camera with the number 116 brought a sensational price of 2,160,000 euros. At the 22nd Camera Auction, the legendary M3D owned by the LIFE photographer and Picasso intimate David Douglas Duncan was sold for a price of 1,680,000 euros and became the most expensive serial production camera ever. A gold-plated Luxus Leica, dated 1929, sold for 1,020,000 euros. The very first mass-produced M3, formerly owned by Willi Stein, chief engineer of Leitz, was sold for 900,000 euros (all prices include the buyer’s premium). For further information, please visit www.westlicht-auction.com.

Leica Camera AG is an international, premium manufacturer of cameras and sports optics. The legendary reputation of the Leica brand is based on a long tradition of excellent quality, German craftsmanship and German industrial design, combined with innovative technologies. An integral part of the brand's culture is the diversity of activities the company undertakes for the advancement of photography. In addition to the Leica Galleries and Leica Akademies spread around the world, there are the Leica Hall of Fame Award and, in particular, the Leica Oskar Barnack Award (LOBA), which is considered one of the most innovative sponsorship awards existing today. Furthermore, Leica Camera AG, with its headquarters in Wetzlar, Hesse, and a second production site in Vila Nova de Famalicão, Portugal, has a worldwide network of its own national organisations and Leica Retail Stores.