On the Auction Block: 10 of the Most Unusual Cameras Ever Made

For astronauts, spies, and everyone in between

By American Photo
June 11, 2015
New York Leica Gun RIFLE Prototype (1937) with Wetzlar viewfinder and carrying case. Estimated value: € 300,000-350,000Courtesy of WestLicht
C.P. Goerz Berlin (Krauss) Reporter Book Camera (c. 1889) made for roll film. Estimated value: € 20,000-25,000Courtesy of WestLicht
Multi-Speed Shutter Company Simplex Multiexposure (1914) with 50mm Bausch & Lomb Zeiss Tessar lens, the first production camera for 24x36mm exposures on 35mm film. One of about 27 ever made. Estimated value: € 40,000-50,000Courtesy of WestLicht
Leica M4 Olive (1970) with chrome Elmar 2.8/50mm, one of only 30 ever made for the German military (Bundeswehr). Estimated value: € 70,000—90,000Courtesy of WestLicht
Leica M6 Electronic (1979) with rare Leica prototype lens Elmarit - M 28mm f/2.8, one of only two in existence. While the camera never went into commercial production, this was an early attempt to integrate TTL metering into the Leica M by using the Leica R4 with its Seiko shutter as a base. Has optional automatic exposure and a large camera rear door opening horizontally. Estimated value: € 150,000-200,000Courtesy of WestLicht
Hasselblad EL DATA CAMERA (1969) with Planar f/3.5 100mm lens, one of 50 original HEDC cameras produced for the NASA Apollo missions, 15 of which were used on the moon. "The lens is focused on infinity," WestLicht says. Estimated value: € 40,000-50,000Courtesy of WestLicht
Damoizeau – Cyclographe à Foyer Variable (1894) with the original focusing back with folding hood, three original brass-bound lenses of different focal lengths, and matching tripod. This panoramic camera has a normal view camera back and bellows, plus an extension back with a second set of bellows and a large cast-metal turntable to make 360° photos. It was specially made for the French photographer P. Cochard of Annecywith. Estimated value: € 70,000-90,000Courtesy of WestLicht
Lancaster Watch Camera Ladies' Model (1890), a detective camera designed like a pocket watch with self-erecting spring-loaded telescoping tubes for 1 1/2 x 2" plates. Only about 5 cameras are known to exist. Estimated value: € 40,000-45,000Courtesy of WestLicht
L.Bloch Le Sherlock Holmes (1912), a magazine box camera disguised as a small briefcase. Estimated value: € 16,000-20,000Courtesy of WestLicht
American Daguerreotype Camera (c.1845) covered in rosewood veneer, made within a few years of the original Daguerreotype cameras with a uniquely American style chamfered front and back, an internal sliding box for focusing rather than French 'drawer' style. No maker‘s name on the camera. Estimated value: € 30,000-35,000

The 27th WestLicht Camera Auction kicks off in Vienna on June 13, 2015, with live bidding online. Out of 579 lots, we picked 10 of the weirder cameras we've ever seen. If you're in the market for some antique spy equipment or want capture some sweet medium-format stills of your one-way trip to Mars, you've found the right auction house.

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