For Sale E. Leitz, N.Y., Wollensak Velostigmat 50mm f/3.5 lens

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Karl K

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Up for sale is a rather hard to find Leica (E. Leitz, N.Y.) screw-mount Wollensak 50/3.5 lens in remarkable condition.
The optics, cosmetics, and mechanics are excellent.
This lens produces beautiful images because this version has factory coated optics.
As most of you know, this lens was produced during WWII when new German-made Leica lenses were not exported to the USA.
E. Leitz, Inc., N.Y. contracted Wollensak in Rochester, N.Y. to copy the famous 50mm f/3.5 Elmar to fill the needs for USA sales.
I believe the body of this lens was made by Leitz in Germany and the optics were made by Wollensak.
That's why this lens looks and feels like the 50mm f/3.5 Elmar.
$1250 + $20 shipping

 

beemermark

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I almost said I would buy this, I thought it was a fantastic deal. But I mis-read the ad and thought it was $125. A very rare lens and worth every penny at your asking price but $1000 more than I have -
 

Kodachromeguy

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This is an interesting piece of optical history. How did E Leitz import the lens bodies? Did they come to USA via Sweden or Spain?
 
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Karl K

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Kodachromeguy said:
This is an interesting piece of optical history. How did E Leitz import the lens bodies? Did they come to USA via Sweden or Spain?
Click to expand...

I tried to find the answer to this question and I came up empty-handed.
The British government instituted the export ban from Germany to the USA in 1939, with approval from Congress.
The Wollensak lens "bodies" were made in Wetzlar, I'm sure, because they look identical to the Elmar's, but how they arrived on USA shores is a mystery to me.

Anybody know the answer?
 

Kodachromeguy

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Another observation: Leitz trusted Wollensak to supply appropriate quality glass, but they did not (or could not?) find a US supplier for the barrel and mount?

The engraving is good, but the E. is rather close to Leitz.

These elements are coated. I am not sure if German versions were coated during WWII.
 
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MarkS

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Wollensak would have been easily able to replicate the barrel design of the Elmar- they likely had the drawings in hand. The label 'E. Leitz Inc. New York' suggests American manufacture.
 
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Karl K

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No shipping until December 4, 2024.
 

Kodachromeguy

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MarkS said:
Wollensak would have been easily able to replicate the barrel design of the Elmar- they likely had the drawings in hand. The label 'E. Leitz Inc. New York' suggests American manufacture.
Click to expand...
I saw several auctions in Austria for Velostigmat lenses. Here is one with a metric distance scale. And the red box states, "Made in USA." That does not necessarily solve the mystery of whether the body was US made or if it came from E. Leitz stock. But I am surprised that E. Leitz New York was exporting Velostigmat lenses to Europe. When did Leitz in Wetzlar restart production of their 3.5 Elmar?

https://www.leitz-auction.com/en/Velostigmat-3.5-50mm/AI-26-31130
 

MarkS

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Well, Europe, especially Germany, was an enormous pile of wreckage in 1945-47 (and later). Wollensak (a major manufacturer) had probably made more 50/3.5 lenses than they had sold. It's likely that E. Leitz was having great difficulty producing anything, immediately postwar. Even if their factory had not been bombed or shelled into oblivion, materials would have been difficult to find, logistics a nightmare, and no doubt many employees were dead, refugees, or prisoners.
So it would be natural to supply the Rochester-made lenses to Wetzlar, to cover production shortfalls. I can't imagine many Wollensak lenses went to Germany- or that very many were made in total- but apparently some did. Those lenses would have served to "tide them over" until production could be restarted. Currency laws, exchange rates, and the quagmire of international rules and regulations postwar would have kept the Velostigmats from being a long-term answer.
All pure speculation on my part; there must be Leica historians who have studied this, but I'll call it plausible, anyway.
 
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Karl K

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E. Leitz, NYC was desperate after WWII. They had very little inventory to sell. Wollensak was able to fill the gap until Leitz in Wetzlar was able to resume production.
Later in 1952, Leitz established their own manufacturing factory in Midland, Ontario as insurance that another crisis affecting Germany would not cripple them again.

  • Leica chose Canada because North America was its largest export market.​
  • The factory assembled cameras from parts manufactured in Wetzlar, Germany.​
  • Similarly, I believe that the 50mm Velostigmat body was made from German parts and only the glass was made by Wollensak.​
  • One of the first products made in Canada was the Leica IIIf, which was the first Leica to have built-in flash sync.​
  • Another camera made in Canada was the Leica M3, with some models marked as German but actually made in Canada.​
  • I believe that that these M3 bodies were actually assembled in Canada from parts made in Germany.​
Can anyone verify this?
 
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Saganich

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I pulled out the Lager book to see about the mfg question, he states the 'lens mounts were fabricated by E.Leitz New York', then I noticed the example in the Lager book has the same SN as the one here for sale, so a celebrity lens.
 
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Karl K

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Saganich said:
I pulled out the Lager book to see about the mfg question, he states the 'lens mounts were fabricated by E.Leitz New York', then I noticed the example in the Lager book has the same SN as the one here for sale, so a celebrity lens.
Click to expand...

Yes, many of my Leica collectible lenses were lent to Jim Lager for illustrating his books.
Thanks for pointing this out.
 
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