a true long focal length 135mm lens for a specific c1930/1 Leica.
Toronto. On a chilly February 15 night in 1983, I attended the PHSC monthly meeting as I usually did each month. A young man (Leon) approached me offering a 135mm Elmar that was once his father’s. I declined the offer since it was not of interest to me at the time. As we closed for the night, Leon approached me once again. Seemingly he had no luck selling the old lens. He offered it to me again, this time for a serious discount. I relented and bought the lens.
At home that night I recorded the purchase, noting the old lens had neither a visible serial number nor a traditional lens ring, just threads inside the lens tube and a skinny ring holding in the elements. On further investigation, I realized the lens was manufactured c1930/1.
In 1930 Leitz revised the tiny Leica to make it an interchangeable lens camera. For the first months the lens mount to film plane was a slightly variable distance. Any interchangeable lens had to be purchase with the camera and was engraved (scratched) inside with all or part of the associated camera serial number. Scratched on the inside of this lens head is “134” and on the focussing mount “A 134”.
For a brief period, Leitz manufactured Leicas with non-standard lens mounts. I never met Leon again, nor did I ever find the associated Leica. Once the film to lens mount distance was standardized, a small “o” was engraved at 12 0’clock on the outside of the lens mount signifying any fully serial numbered lens could be safely used.
The 13.5 cm Elmar lens head was initially offered from 1920 for larger cameras and has a field of view much greater than necessary for any 35mm camera. The lens was seemingly intended as a normal lens for field cameras (9×12 cm field of view according to one collector’s guide).
Our 2026 events may turn up this type of lens or another interesting item for your collection. Coming up next are two traditional events – our May 3rd, 2026 auction, and our May 24th, 2026 (spring) fair. As we get closer to the dates, a poster and details will be pinned to the top of this site.
