WestLicht Photographica Auction on May 23rd 2009

For this year's auction WestLicht has succeeded in being able to offer a selection of around 900 lots of the highest quality in their Vienna auction house. As with previous auctions numerous unique cameras and classics of photographic history that will appeal equally to institutional collections, dealers and private collectors with a feeling for something special are to be auctioned.

Some Facts about the Auction
DATE: 15th WestLicht Photographica Auction
on Saturday, May 23rd 2009 at 11 a.m. (CET)
Viewing: before May 20th by appointment
Between the 20th and the 22nd May from 10 a.m. till 6 p.m.
On Saturday, May 23rd from 8 a.m. till 11 a.m.

LOCATION: WestLicht, Westbahnstrasse 40, A-1070 Vienna, Austria

CONTACT: WestLicht Photographica Auction
Westbahnstrasse 40, 1070 Vienna
Telefon: +43 1 523 56 59
Fax: +43 1 523 13 08
E-Mail: auction@westlicht.com

The complete on-line version of the current catalogue will be available by mid April at their auction website www.westlicht-auction.com – all the lots from the previous auction catalogues can also be found in the internet.

Detailed descriptions of selected lots
Along with the familiar high quality offer of outstanding cameras and Photographica, this WestLicht Auction on May 23rd will see the presumably earliest Leica M3 pre-model ever built. The camera is in near mint condition and differs in many details from the other "00XX"-series cameras. It will beauctioned with a matching prototype dual-lever Summikron (written with a “k”) of which are only two are known to exist. (Starting Price: 35,000, Estimate: 70,000-90,000).

The next lots of equal exclusivity are a number of handpicked Leicas: next to sought-after rarities like a war-time Reporter Leica in fantastic original condition (Starting Price: 6,000, Estimate: 10,000-12,000), this auction will see two near mint olive M Leicas. An original Leica M3 olive for the Germany Army will start at 4,000 Euros (Estimate is 8,000-9,000) and the extremely rare Leica M4 olive (one out of a production of only 30 pieces) is offered for a start price of 20,000 Euros (Estimate: 30,000-38,000).

The range of rare Japanese cameras covers wonderful Nikon I in near mint condition (Starting Price: 9,000, Estimate: 18,000-22,000), an extensive Nikon SP chrome outfit in mint condition (Starting Price: 5,000, Estimate: 10,000-20,000) and the very first verified 'Original Black' Nikon S3 from first batch of about 50 cameras in beautiful and 100% original condition (Starting Price: 3,500 EUR, Estimate: 7,000-8,000).

We are also very pleased to be able to offer an extremely rare Carl Zeiss UV-Sonnar 4.3/105mm for Hasselblad C (total production 73) in perfect condition (Starting Price: 2,800, Estimate: 5,000-6,000) and one of the few early NASA modified 500 EL/M which was a pre-runner of the later produced HEC (Hasselblad Electric Camera) for the Apollo Lunar missions. This camera is from the first generation NASA motor-driven cameras and comes with a special NASA Planar 2.8/80mm. The camera and the lens are especially designed for use in space (Starting Price: 12,000, Estimate: 20,000-24,000).

Another highlight of the next auction is the wide range of historical cameras and optical toys. Next to a well preserved Francais Kinegraph Stereo (Starting Price: 4,000, Estimate: 6,000-8,000) we are able to offer two exceptional Dallmeyer cameras: an Universal Sliding Box Camera from c.1870 (Starting Price: 6,000, Estimate: 10,000-12,000) and a Naturalist Tropical Reflex dating from c.1910 (Starting Price: 7,000, Estimate: 10,000-12000). In addition there is a wide choice of handpicked Stanhope Viewers and a collection of rare and exclusive Magic Lanterns.

You will find the descriptions of all the lots on their homepage www.westlicht-auction.com by mid April. All prices in Euro.

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