Leitz Photographica Auction 41

The 41st bi-annual auction offered vintage military cameras and rare prints of Marilyn Monroe

Twice each year, the Leitz Photographica Auction offers a lucrative collection of vintage photographs, cameras and accessories to interested buyers from around the world. The 41st auction, held at Vienna’s Hotel Bristol, saw bidders compete for a variety of lots that included prints of Marilyn Monroe and a number of military cameras – ultimately raising over €600,000.

The three prints of a young Marilyn Monroe were some of the first rare photographs to be sold at the Leitz auction in three years. The images, captured by Hollywood photographer André de Dienes in 1949, see Monroe posing on Tobay Beach, Long Island. The prints, originally estimated at under €8,000, sold for €15,600, with all proceeds going to the Austrian charity ‘Licht ins Dunkel’ (‘Light into Darkness’).

The Leitz Photographica Auction is known for offering sought-after vintage cameras, but this time, three British army cameras were of special interest to a pair of competitive bidders. The first, the Leica Illa British Marine (SN 198047), made in 1936, eventually sold for €43,200, while the second, the Leica Standard British Navy ‘Admiralty NP’ (SN 277758) went for €36,000.

One camera brought an unusually high sum — and was perhaps the “most expensive military camera ever sold at auction”, according to Alexander Sedlak, Managing Director. The Leica M4 Olive ‘Bundeseigentum’ (‘federal property’), estimated at €300,000 to €350,000, sold for €540,000.

The 41st Leitz Photographica Auction took place on 26 November 2022, marking its 20-year anniversary. Visit leitz-auction.com or leica-camera.com to learn more.