> > Wow. I'll bet we had one or two of those in a drawer > somewhere at the Fotoshop before it closed. It was *amazing* > the kind of ancient filters, hoods and other accessories, > including some Leica items, we had gathering dist in drawers > and cabinets. > A friend of mine called me over to his house a couple of weeks ago because one of his very old friends was in the country visiting. He said something about "his father's amazing old lighter". Well, being deaf-ish that's what I heard. Turned out to be a 1953 Leica IIIf red dial, with a Summicron collapsible 50mm, a collapsible Elmar 50mm and few bits and pieces, all in mint condition. His mother had been clearing out their house - his father died a long time ago - and found this equipment. He'd just had it CLA's and checked over, so I loaded it and shot the first frames that had been through the camera for many, many years. A real privilege.
This chap, from an Ethiopian diplomatic family, also had a unique, 18 carat gold Swiss watch & chain made in 1905 which was monogrammed with an Ethiopian M and the famous Ethiopian Imperial lion (http://www.angelfire.com/ny/ethiocrown/flags.html). The watch had been the personal property of the emperor Menelik II. Lovely stuff to see and touch. Bob
