Leica D.R.P Ernst Leitz Wetzlar No.335180

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Leica Photography : One Thread

Good evening, I have just recently been left by my late grandfather several old cameras, a couple of which are Leica's.

The first has the following text on the top on the range finder: "Leica D.R.P Ernst Leitx Wetzlar No. 335180" If memory serves me correct, it is a model 3B made in or around 1940. That is the sum of my knowledge of this camera. Is there anything else I should be aware of?

The second camera is as follows: Text written around what appears to be an exposure knob "Ernst Leitz Wetzlar D.R.P." Then, immediately over the lense is written No. 300107. What I recall of this camera is that it is a Leica Standard around 1938. It's missing a range finder. Is there anything special about this camera?

A few misc. questions: What does D.R.P. stand for? Who is/was Ernst Leitz? What is the significance of Wetzlar?

Thank you and please pardon the previous incomplete post. The demon in my computer began acting up.

I have other questions regarding lenses which I will post in another thread, possibly under another topic.

-- Race Cannon (racecannon@yahoo.com), April 18, 2002

Answers

Wetzlar: city of Germany where cameras were built. Now they are build in Solms few miles away. Ernst Leitz : inventor and technician who designed the first Leica in 1923. D.R.P. : means Deutsch Republik Patent (though I am not sure). It is strange because you have information about the name and production year of the Leica Standard which are very specific, and you no idea of the city of Wetzlar. It is not a critic. ( correction: Oskar Barnack was the designer and Ernst Leitz was the owner/manager of the optical factory in Wetzlar where they produced microscopes at that time......Jean-P.Auger

-- Jean-Pierre Auger. (paphoto@videotron.ca), April 18, 2002.

any relation to race bannon from "johnny quest"?? the oloder camera is a leica standard as you say. fixed lens. never had an rf. the other is a 1939 iiib. nice, unremarkable early barnack cameras.

-- roger michel (michel@tcn.org), April 18, 2002.

AFAIK D.R.P. was the abbreviation for Deutsches Reichspatent-- from 1871 to 1945, the country called itself a Reich, empire. (1871-1918 ruled by emperors--Kaiser, 1919-1933 a republic, 1933-1945 dictatorship set on destruction and genocide.).)

BTW screw mount Leicas always have the type 'number' written in Roman numbers; i.e., there's no 3b or 111b, both would be IIIb.

-- Oliver Schrinner (piraya@hispavista.com), April 19, 2002.

Moderation questions? read the FAQ