Karim Ghantous Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 I have to admit to a bit of skepticism here. Please correct me if I'm wrong: Leica IIIa Camera Body with Inlaid Swastica. | eBay This seems like a modern affectation to me. Maybe to attract attention and to fog judgement. After all, we all love history, and swastikas sell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dieter Schaefer Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 Says "non-factory" right in the description. Whether or not it was applied in the "correct period" is mere speculation. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochen_S Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 IDK who might have done that when and why. - Maybe during the 70s or similar when it was cool to flash a bit of Nazi stuff in the (non-German!) Rocker scene? - As much as I like my M's, I'd rather be toting a FED with inlaid Lenin. Stock up with gaffer tape before you dare to travel the world randomly with that camera. Over here they'll happily fine you about half a month's wage for flashing the Swastica. Anyhow: To me it looks like a private project. - I can't tell if it was done by (or for) a politically mislead local or some foreigner, for which reason ever. - That ebay seller looks like a camera store to me, so maybe they are describing and rating properly and it is indeed barely used and in decent condition? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Kahn Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 In decent condition? Nothing with a swastika is decent in any sense of the word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Peri Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 In decent condition? Nothing with a swastika is decent in any sense of the word. You need to learn about other cultures: swastika in india Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Kahn Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 Show me a camera made in India, like the Ace Sure-Flex 620 with a swastika, I'll applaud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Peri Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 Show me a camera made in India, like the Ace Sure-Flex 620 with a swastika, I'll applaud. You also said "Nothing with a swastika is decent in any sense of the word," so I introduced you to other cultures that have MANY items with swastikas. If you meant just cameras, you shouldn't have said "nothing." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Kahn Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 You're right, so I retract the "nothing". Obviously, I was thinking about the Leica III, and nothing else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Peri Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 You're right, so I retract the "nothing". Obviously, I was thinking about the Leica III, and nothing else. Hmm... case closed... http://bayouline.com/o2.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthur_mcculloch2 Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 Vincent and William, I thought that the hindu swastika could either rotate clockwise or anticlockwise (each meant different things, I think). A rather ancient symbol, with a long history. I think that I would be very hesitant to pay the asking price for this item, even if it were functional. Regards, Arthur (apiarist1) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Peri Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 ...I thought that the hindu swastika could either rotate clockwise or anticlockwise (each meant different things, I think)... That's right. Exactly what the difference is, I'm not sure, but the clockwise swastika is a very positive symbol. The counterclockwise one is supposed to be somewhat negative, though in my quick search I couldn't find out what connotations it might have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_cerutti Posted March 18, 2018 Share Posted March 18, 2018 You need to learn about other cultures: swastika in india I'm sorry but a German swastika is pathetic. I would not own something with that on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moving On Posted March 18, 2018 Share Posted March 18, 2018 Pathetic is probably not the correct term in this case. Not a symbol that evokes pity in my mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Peri Posted March 18, 2018 Share Posted March 18, 2018 I'm sorry but a German swastika is pathetic. I would not own something with that on it. I never said it wasn't. The swastika is a legitimate religious symbol in India and elsewhere in Asia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_bellayr Posted March 18, 2018 Share Posted March 18, 2018 I will weigh in with my 2 cents. Most after market modifications should not increase the value generally. Provenance is more important than modification. I do not understand why that emblem on a Leica (when the family that owned Leica were anti-Nazi and one member of the family went to jail for that reason) would increase the value. Camerawest is a reputable seller, but personally, I would avoid that item. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uhooru Posted March 18, 2018 Share Posted March 18, 2018 As far as I'm considered, whomever carved the symbol on the Leica just defaced a Leica. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james_elwing Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 Well, whoever buys it can do a bit of dig dig infill infill with black stuff, or put it with their luger collection. Yes it's a bit pathetic, and probably carried out by some bright spark with an eye for a few extra bucks with no insight into into his or her actions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Williams Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 I prefer mine, a IIIa of the same age vintage with a non-factory flash synch socket in place of that nasty bit of decoration! Incidentally, wouldn't a Leica intended for the German domestic market in the 30s have the auf/zu inscriptions on the baseplate rather than open/close? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james_elwing Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 You have a valid point, Richard. Might have belonged to one of those British Moseley fascists. Maybe it's a sterling silver inlay done in a London Jewellers, around 1939. But probably not. Where's the silver mark? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDMvW Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 Ach Weh! Sehen Sie Russian Fake Leicas It may be that real Zorkiis and FEDs will become rare since so many of them have been retrofitted as "Leicas" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Williams Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 For once it's a real Leica, though whether the badge is contemporary with the camera is anyone's guess. This one has a vaguely similar decoration, though it also has German navy engravings: Leica II Kriegsmarine But as Steve says, provenance is everything for collectors of such things. It could easily be an upmarket counterpart of those doctored FEDs. Either way, I suspect it will end up somewhere like this: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james_elwing Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 Excellent, Richard, thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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