England 1937 – Compact – 35 mm – Very Rare. The Compass was manufactured in London by the Swiss watch-makers Le Coultre et Cie for the Compass Cameras Ltd in 1937. It was conceived and designed by Noel Pemberton Billing, an airman and Member of Parliament and is probably one of the most incredible cameras … Read moreLe Coultre & Cie
Compass – 99/99
The most intricate
England 1934 – Subminiature – 16 mm – Very Rare. The Midget is a subminiature camera made by Coronet in England starting 1934. The Midget was as small as a match box and designed to be used as a gift in cereal packets. The designers took advantage of the way Bakelite could easily be moulded … Read moreCoronet
Midget – 94/99
Cereal box gift
Germany 1932 – Folding – 120 film – Very rare. The Voigtlander Prominent 6 X 9 went into production in 1932 and is probably one of the most incredible folding cameras ever built. This massive folding camera was designed from the start to be a superlative camera and was sold about the same price of … Read moreVoigtlander
Prominent – 85/99
Germany 1957 – Compact – 35 mm – Very rare. The Leica III G (often said to stand for “Gorgeous”) was introduced by Leica in 1956. It was the last of the screw mount Leicas as designed by Oscar Barnack. Barnack did not actually design the III G as he passed away in 1935 after … Read moreLeica
Leica IIIG – 83/99
Germany 1932 – Compact – 35 mm – Very rare. Produced from 1932, Zeiss Ikon’s Contax was designed to be the brand’s challenger to Leitz Leica. Aware of the Leica’s growing success, Zeiss Ikon decided to produce a competitor designed to be superior in every way using the same perforated 35 mm film. The name … Read moreZeiss Ikon
Contax – 82/99
France 1955 – Compact – 35 mm – Very Rare. Created in the mid-50s by Paul Lachaize near Lyon, France, the Mecilux is a remarkable device. Lachaize, a skilled artisan, ventured into industrial production using emerging precision plastic injection techniques. What sets the Mecilux apart is its focus on accessibility and user-friendliness. Lachaize devised an … Read moreLachaize
Mecilux – 81/99
1500 produced
Germany 1935 – Compact – 34 mm – Very Rare. Produced from 1932, Zeiss Ikon’s Contax was designed to be the brand’s challenger to Leitz Leica. Aware of the Leica’s growing success, Zeiss Ikon decided to produce a competitor designed to be superior in every way using the same perforated 35 mm film. The name … Read moreZeiss Ikon
Contax “Chrome Face” – 82/99
Few 100s produced
Germany 1940 – Compact – 35 mm – Very rare. The Praktiflex, launched by Kamera-Werkstatten (a.k.a. KW), made its debut at the 1939 Leipzig Fair and would generate excitement almost immediately. Demand for the new Praktiflex was so great, that the company had to quickly relocate into a former candy factory in Niedersedlitz in the … Read moreKamera Werkstatten
Praktiflex – 80/99
Japan 1958 – Compact – 35 mm – Very rare. The Honor S1 (or Honor 35) is a Japanese Leica III copy, made from 1956 to 1959 by Zuiho Kōgaku. It seems that it was first developed by Daiichi Kōgaku as the Ichicon-35 though no original document has yet been found to confirm this. The … Read moreZuiho
Honor S1 – 77/99
Italy 1954 – Compact – 35 mm – Very rare. Starting in 1949, Domenico Chinaglia of Belluno in north-west Italy started producing the Kristall Cameras, Italian copies of the Leica II. Chinaglia was an incredible character and produced cameras in various locations. He collaborated with several other entrepreneurs of the times ultimately giving birth to … Read moreDomenico Chinaglia
Kristall R – 74/99
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