Re: [Leica] LEICA MD-22, A LEICA M4P 70TH ANNIVERSARY

["Robert Bedwell" <rlb@triad.rr.com>]

Wouldn't you like to have a day or two in that room opening boxes?

Thanks for sending.

bob


- ----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark Rabiner" <mrabiner@concentric.net>
To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Sent: Saturday, January 22, 2000 4:38 PM
Subject: Re: [Leica] LEICA MD-22, A LEICA M4P 70TH ANNIVERSARY


> ATLANTA, Jan. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- In what is believed to be the largest-
ever
> private sale of photographic equipment, KEH.com announced today that it
has
> purchased a collection containing thousands of cameras and lenses from a
> California collector for more than $1.25 million. Included in the
collection are
> hundreds of rare and unusual vintage cameras.
>  Atlanta-based KEH, the largest used camera company in the world, acquired
the
> coveted collection from Brooke Gabrielson, a 55-year-old Newport Beach,
> California, attorney and avid collector who has been buying photographic
> equipment since his college days. A regular bidder at some of the largest
and
> most prestigious camera auctions in the world, Gabrielson amassed a
collection
> that filled an entire room in his house and totaled more than 1,500
cameras,
> plus 3,000 lenses and accessories. The eclectic collection contains some
very
> rare pieces, including one-of-a-kind camera prototypes and commemorative
edition
> cameras and lenses, as well as current production cameras.
>  ><Snip> Also in the extensive collection are a ONE-OF-A-KIND LEICA MD-22,
A
> PROTOTYPE THAT WAS NEVER MANUFACTURED; a Rolleiflex that is one of only
two
> produced (the other is in the Rolleiflex museum in Germany); and a novelty
> camera shaped like a pack of Marlboro cigarettes. KEH plans to sell the
pieces
> of the collection primarily on its Web site, KEH.com, Mulherin says.
> ><Snip>
>  How do you handle such a unique, valuable collection of cameras and
prepare
> each item for sale? "Very carefully," explains Mulherin. The cameras and
other
> photographic items have been turned over to KEH's technical department for

> careful examination, grading and cleaning. The Gabrielson collection is so
large
> that four of the seven people in the department have been assigned to work
with
> it. Because some of the equipment is so delicate, KEH restricts the number
of
> people allowed to touch it. Wearing white cotton gloves to prevent any
damage to
> the cameras, the technical staff is in the process of studying each piece
in the
> collection, comparing it with the inventory list, grading it, and in some
cases,
> combining pieces for sale together. For example, THE COLLECTION INCLUDES A
LEICA
> M4P CAMERA PRODUCED IN 1983 TO COMMEMORATE LEICA'S 70TH ANNIVERSARY. IN A
> SEPARATE BOX THAT HAD NEVER BEEN OPENED, KEH DISCOVERED THREE
COMMEMORATIVE
> LENSES TO ACCOMPANY THE CAMERA. KEH will package the camera and lenses
together
> for sale.
>  ><Snip>
>  As for Gabrielson, he says he doesn't miss his roomful of cameras.
However, he
> admits that on the day he sold the collection to KEH he strolled into a
store in
> Carmel and bought another camera.
>
> from the newswires I made some of the stuff in UPPERCASE
> Mark Rabiner