Periscope Leica (?)
If you know your Leicas, a quick glance at the front and top of this camera will show you that it is indeed a Leica 1f (the clues are that it has no viewfinder, rangefinder or slow speeds).
Further investigation of the serial number confirms that this is a Leica 1f and manufactured in 1951 and part of a batch of 2200.
So far pretty standard and straightforward.
Now turn the camera round to look at the back and things get a little less ‘straightforward’ – there is a hole in the back, threaded for a felt-lined screw-in cover.
The 1f was made for special applications and you could speculate that the back hole of this one could be used to check focus with a special viewing screen, perhaps before loading film and taking pictures.
Could this be a “Periscope Leica” for naval purposes, or do you know of any other uses made of a camera with this specific modification?
A very similar camera, with a so called ‘periscope’ mount, was auctioned at Christies in 2002 and sold for £5,875.
Any information you may have, practical or otherwise, about the use of this camera would be gratefully received by the owner, via the Tailboard Editor.
Replies please: E: tailboard@pccgb.com