David Douglas Duncan & the 'M3D'

I was recently reading David Douglas Duncan's, LUMP -- THE DOG WHO ATE A PICASSO, which is a

further selection of pictures from his sixteen or seventeen year association with Picasso.

 

In it DDD refers to using "custom-built Leica M3D" cameras. In the several pictures in which he is

shown holding a camera it appears to me to be an M in black but with a chrome lens and wideangle

viewer in the hot shoe. There's fairly clearly a Leicavit attached...

 

But does anyone know for sure what the M3D actually was? Was it an M3 designed/built specifically for

DDD and did it actually have the designation M3D?

 

DDD's dog, Lump, is pictured sitting in DDD's custom painted (black) 'gull-wing' Mercedes, which he

explains Merecedes traded him for a 'bunch of colour pictures' that he took as part of the advertising

campaign to launch the car in 1957.....

 

Those were the days -- a good reputation and a bagful of leicas would get you anywhere...even if you

did have to drive there in your own gull-wing Merc!

 

--alun

Yeah! That M3 was built especially for DDD. It was black with a Leicavit...Leica MP (Press). The serial numbers were especial too. DDD MP was #1.They (Leitz) manufactured in limited quantities. A small fortune if you can find one.

My understanding is that one of the M3D's is with his archive at the University of Texas in

Austin. About two years ago he gave the Mercedes 300SL Gullwing to Picasso's son Claude.

He felt it should be back with the family.

According to a pix published in DDD's "Photo Nomad" his M3-D was a black M3 with a silver speed dial and a silver M2 advance lever. he had THREE of these made.

From his 1968 book "I Protest!" : " Once again I depend upon two Leicas (custom-built M3-Ds), crossed bandolier style on my chest. On is fitted with a Leitz 50mm F1.4 Summilux lens, and the other with a Canon 25mm F3.5 lens."

Thank you, all, for the informative responses so far.

 

--alun

According to this article four M3D bodies exist:

 

http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0405/burrows_ddd.html

 

AFAIR, when interviewed by Amateur Photographer Duncan mentioned that one was in his archive, another had been given to a friend, and the remaining cameras were kept in a bank vault.

Insprired by the M3D and DDD.....<div></div>

Thanks for the informative replies and especially for the link to the interview/article on the

DJ website.

 

--alun

These were basically pre-production black MP cameras but designated

M3D. If memory serves, they lacked front frame preview and self-timer

levers.

 

Quite similar is the M3E made for Eisenstadt, also a pre-production MP

but in silver chrome. Eisie only bought one camera, DDD got four, a fifth

was apparently made but never delivered and is/was (last I heard) in a US

collection.

LFI - Magazine sent me the book as thank you for subscribing. It's a nice read with some pure and raw b&w stuff. Sometimes you wish it was still 1954 (speaking of photography of course). Nice handmade Leica's, nice b&w film..... .

I had one MP, too,serial no 302, could not resist selling it as the price started to go astronomical. I have to be

satisfied with the M4-P with Abrahamsson Rapidwinder. The lens is Canon 50mm 1,2

I think DDD was using that too, as the Kremlin book tech sheet listed canon 50:1,2 and 25mm:3,5 also in one

picture with Picasso DDD was showing his Leicas, one had the canon 25m "pancake" and the other canon 50mm

less the special hood.

I found the Kremlin book! The tech sheet lists his equipment: Kodachrome 25 film, norman strobe.

Two leica MD3 bodies, Lenses: 50mm 1,2 canon-35mm 1,8 nikkor-25mm 3,5 canon and 21mm Zeiss Biogon 4,5-not a single Leitz lens...

<p>Later I found in DDD`s book "Yankee Nomad" a mention that his MD3`s were personally assembled for him by Ernst Leitz III, Wow, Think the leica CEO sitting besides the parts drawer and putting together some great bodies for a great photographer !</p>