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Leica: 100 Years In The Making
Jason Momoa attends 100 Years of Leica: Witness to a Century, on May 03, 2025 in New York City. ... More (Photo byfor Leica Camera USA)
When talking about cameras, Leica never fails to make the conversational cut. And this year more than ever, as the distinguished German brand marks the 100th anniversary of the Leica 1 – and a century of continuous camera production – the marque is popping up all over the globe with exclusive special edition models and complementary festivities. The '100 Years of Leica: Witness to a Century' made a star-studded stop last month in NYC, debuting a standout limited production run of 100 M11 cameras, each engraved with 'New York USA.'
Andreas Kaufmann, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Leica Camera AG, at a press conference at ... More Leica headquarters.
"We started in Dubai and we will finish in October in Tokyo,' Dr. Andreas Kaufmann, chairman of the supervisory board of Leica Camera AG, told me, referencing Leica's multi-city celebratory sojourn. In addition to NYC, the gatherings continue in Milan, Italy; Dubai, UAE; Shanghai, China; Tokyo, Japan; and Leica's home, Wetzlar, Germany, where festivities were held June 26. Each city, like NYC, is honored with a limited production engraved camera that will be available for purchase exclusively in its home country. The Anniversary Collection, as it is broadly called, also includes history-inspired cameras and accessories from traditional brands like Graf von Faber-Castell, which is producing a limited edition commemorative Perfect Pencil and a limited edition Perfect Ballpoint pen.
Leica's Claim To Fame
Whether a dedicated 'cameraphile' or weekend warrior, photographers will appreciate that the Leica 1 was Leica's first 35mm camera to be mass produced, transforming the status quo with its portable design and compact size. It thus exploded a genre – street photography – that undoubtedly altered the public's perceptions of the world. Acclaimed 20th-century photojournalist Henri Cartier-Bresson, for example, used Leica's M-3 and famously called it 'the extension of my eye.' After experimenting with his first camera, the French artist remarked poetically, 'I suddenly understood that a photograph could fix eternity in an instant.'
Dr. Kaufmann attributes Leica's enduring success in part to its resiliency, having spanned war and economic and political uncertainties over its decades-long history. And as for innovation, German engineering – perhaps best personified at Leica by Oskar Barnack – put the company on the map as a leader in its field. Barnack was a photographer and inventor credited with creating, in 1913, what would eventually become the groundbreaking Leica 1. He came to Wetzlar at the behest of Leica founder Ernst Leitz.
The Leica Evolution
As photography evolves, so, too, Leica. The company has made great strides with digital products, including the popular M-Series models, and increasingly software-driven technologies are the future. Dr. Kaufmann is a proponent of phone cameras, which, he says offer a coherent gateway into more sophisticated picture taking and equipment. And with over 7 billion smartphone users worldwide, that's a lot of potential waiting to happen.
With numerous retail locations and about 28 photo galleries worldwide, and more expected in the near future, it is obvious Leica respects the camera as both a technical product and a creative tool for making art. 'The educated photographer always wants to produce something,' says Dr. Kaufmann. 'And art is the one luxury left…it's how you see the world.'
