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Dear Ladies and Gentlemen!Dear friends of Leitz Photographica Auction!Seventy years ago, at Photokina in April 1954, Leica presented the first M model, the Leica M3, as the successor to its legendary screw-mount Leica cameras.Alongside the first Leica prototype, the Ur-Leica, the Leica M3 stands as one of the most important developments in the history of photography. It became a living legend, whose DNA can still be found in all Leica M cameras today. Of course, this camera was not created overnight but was the culmination of a long development process.On the occasion of the 70th anniversary, we, as the auction house of Leica Camera AG, are particularly proud to offer several items related to the history of the M3 at our 45th%u00a0auction. These include ten prototype chassis from the development of the Leica M3 and, in a separate lot, the earliest fully functional prototype of the Leica M3.In addition to these lots which represent the earliest steps in the history of the Leica M, we are also auctioning many other Leica M rarities. Notably, a very early black paint Leica M3 with black counter%u2014the camera is a unique piece from 1958 intended for the Leitz advertising department%u2014and an extremely rare grey paint Leica M2, of which only 20 units were produced for the US Air Force.Beyond our focus on 70 years of the Leica M, you can also expect, as usual, many other Leica rarities. This selection features a series of Leica military cameras and lenses, such as the Leica IIIF and IIIG produced for the Swedish Army.As always, our auction also includes rarities from other brands. Among these are extraordinary cameras from the history of space travel, including a Hasselblad 553 ELS Space, a Salyut 1W Space Camera, and a Nikon F NASA.You will find all of these and many other exciting lots in our catalogue, which we have published not only in digital form but also in the traditional, tactile, and visually more appealing print format%u2014in the spirit of the rediscovered and increasingly popular analogue trend in photography. We wish you much pleasure browsing through it, and we look forward to welcoming you on November 23 at the auction%u2014on site in Vienna, online, or by phone!Yours sincerely,Alexander SedlakManaging Director