Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/05/11

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Subject: Re: [Leica] The Leicar -- Heinz's April Fool
From: WILLIAM CALDWELL <sneeker@erols.com>
Date: Tue, 11 May 1999 23:22:17 -0400

SNIP --
George Huczek wrote:
> 
> Has anyone seen the information below?  Is it a hoax?
> <http://www.f32.com/Articles/art004.htm>

SNIP --

George, the double date line for the article regarding a Leica car is
"By Heinz Richter. 4/1/99[;] Dated APRIL 1, 1999, the following
information was released:".  Think "April Fool's Joke!"   

FYI, The town of Zuffenhausen (given in the article as the location of
Leica's new facilities), is just outside of Stuttgart, Germany, and is
where Porsche AG's principal facilities are located.  

However, it is interesting to note that the author's name is given as
Heinz Richter.  A Heinz Richter owned Photo-Visuals, Inc.(in
Minneapolis, MN, and no longer in business), which claimed that it was
the first franchised agency to sell exclusively only Leica cameras in
the U.S.  That Heinz Richter, under the name of The Barnack and Berek
Publishing Company published, "The Barnack and Berek Newsletter (BB),"
in the very early 1980s. The "BB" was an excellent but short lived
newsletter about Leica and its lore that did not survive the demise of
Photo-Visuals.  Single copy editions of the "BB" are still sold by used
camera book dealers today.

The posting in F 32 is a belated April's Fool (I would hazard to guess),
and
 
Best Regards,

Bill Caldwell
Northern Virginia