One of the rarest and most valuable cameras ever produced, the Leica 0-Series Prototype, will head to auction this spring in honor of the Leica I 35 millimeter's 100th anniversary, with history suggesting the sale could bring millions.
Prior to the release of the Leica I — the first commercially available Leica 35 millimeter camera which would go on to popularize 35 millimeter film photography — Leica built prototypes, serial numbered 101 to 125.
Today it is believed less than half of them remain.
The world record for the highest price ever paid for a camera at public auction belongs to a 2022 sale of a 0-Series Prototype (No. 105), which sold for more than $15 million.
Leitz Photographica Auction, which handled the record-breaking auction, will sell the No. 112 prototype this June.
According to PetaPixel, this particular example was originally accepted by Oskar Barnack, the man who originally built the prototypes for Leica. No. 105 was similarly attributed to Barnack — provenance that likely played a crucial role in the record-setting sale.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.