Leica The Vanishing Camera Shows

Brian

Product of the Fifties
I went to a Photorama show today- been going for almost 30 years. Not many people came out, it as a nice day and some road construction near the show. There are not many camera shows left these days.

My favorite camera dealer was there today, waiting for me. Brought in 3 boxes of camera and lens cases, Leica, Canon, Nikon. Wanted to clear them out- I bought all of them. Also bought a Canon 5cm F2 and 50/1.9, each needed the button and spring for the infinity lock. Needed to be cleaned/lubed. the F1.9 looked like the aperture blades were all over the place, turned out to be the paint from them going all over the place. $50 each. Both cleaned up well, I had a spare infinity lock mechanism from a 50/1.5 Helical. The F2 is rare- easily worth the $300 that I spent today. The F1.9 is best left in extended position- the felt needs to be replaced. But it is clean, lubed, and no more paint flakes.

If you see a how in your area- attend them while you can.
 
I wish there were more of these. I have a handful of dealers and collectors online that I'm comfortable buying from sight-unseen, but I much prefer to inspect a piece of equipment in my own hands before making a purchase commitment. My city has a single used camera store, but his selection is limited and it's rare that he actually has something I need.
 
I used to buy and sell at camera shows. It was a huge sideline business for me.

There used to be wonderful ones at the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York City. I knew lots of people, dozens of memorable characters. It's a terrible shame the web has killed these off.

Does anyone remember Marvin Tanner? He used to sell Leicas at shows and in NYC flea markets. I heard he moved to Australia years ago, but he passed away.

(this was way back in the 1970's to about the mid 1990's or so)

Marvin_tanner.jpg
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