The last few months have been exciting for Leica enthusiasts here at Blue Moon Camera. We have seen a custom “a la carte” M7, four M6 cameras (including an M6 Millennium), and a stunning 1963 M3 with original black paint. However, the rarest and most valuable Leica to grace our shelves this summer is far more subtle and unexpected than any of these cameras.

This is Leica M3 #700114. It was the 114th Leica M3 ever built, rolling off of Leica’s Wetzlar production line in 1954 and likely delivered to Leitz NY later that year. Leica built almost a quarter million M3s over a 12-year production lifespan, so very early cameras — especially in excellent condition like this copy — are highly sought after by collectors.

This camera is distinguished not only by its early date of production and low serial number. This M3 is known as a “one corner” M3 due to a unique sharp edge on the right-hand corner of its brass top plate. This “corner” is subtle but does give the camera a more squared-off, heavier look. On later M3s (and all later M cameras), the raised bar surrounding the rangefinder window blends smoothly into the rounded contour of the camera.

“One corner” M3s are among the rarest and most collectible standard production Leica cameras, as only the first 800 M3s were fitted with these special top plates. The exact reason for the design change is not known, but Leica had slowly refined the features of the M3 through a number of studies and prototypes, so it is possible they landed on a final design after these first cameras had been made.

The first 800 M3s have a number of other unique features, and M3 #700114 is an excellent example of them. One of the more subtle is the advance lever, which has a slightly different shape with a sharper inner angle. The strap eyelets also differ minutely from those on later cameras, but in honesty, you have to be looking really closely. The ASA dial reads to 200, and the rewind knob center is thinner, with one red dot.

A substantial distinction of the first M3s is the internal casting, which has a single film track rail instead of two, giving the camera a much plainer look on the inside. The take-up spool has a silver pin in the center of the dotted arrow, and the film loading illustration reads “11cm / 4 1/2.” As with other early double-stroke M3s, it is fitted with a glass pressure plate.

Another quirk are two small silver ball bearings in the bottom corners of the film door that snap it shut when closed, preventing the door from swinging open without a firm push. This is one feature that I noticed right away when loading the camera, and wish had made it to standard-production M3s.

A final difference between this camera and later M3s is the absence of the distinctive 5th screw at 12 o’clock in the lens mount, originally filled at the factory with the “L Seal.” M3 #700114 lacks this entirely, with just four screws in the mount.

Leica historian James Lager noted in our correspondence regarding this camera that many, but not all, of the first 800 M3s were fitted with these “one corner” top plates. For example, Leica M3 #700201, a beautiful copy built in 1954 and sold at this year’s Leitz Photographica Auction, shows all the special features of the first 800 cameras listed above, but was fitted with a standard M3 top plate. It is unclear why Leica interspersed the final style M3 top plates with “corner” plates to build these cameras, especially if the finalized plates were available as early as #700201. It seems likely that Leica used the “one corner” plates they had produced as they finalized the camera’s design, and introduced the standard style as they became available. Even without the “corner,” M3 #700201 drew significant attention at auction for its other early features, selling for €16,800 with original Summicron lens.

On June 10, 2023, Leica M3 #700417 “one corner” sold for €66,000 at the Leitz auction, shattering the estimate of €32,000-36,000 and demonstrating the immense value placed on these first style M3s by collectors. The camera we have in our store preceded this camera by 303 units, and with its full set of original features, is likely even more collectible. M3 #700005 (just the 5th M3 made!), with “corner” top plate and all other early characteristics, sold for €408,000 in 2019.

Buying M3 #700114 won’t instantly make you a better photographer, but it will connect you to the early days of M3 production in 1954 Wetzlar, the genesis of the world’s most iconic camera. Holding this camera, you literally grasp the history of Leica’s slow perfection of the M3’s design.

We have film tested this camera and it is in great working order, with smooth advance, a bright finder, and even frame spacing. For the right (daring!) buyer, M3 #700114 is ready to shoot and create a lifetime of memories with. This “one corner” M3 is the definitive example of historic, understated Leica style.

— Gabriel Lee Binder

Leica M3 'One Corner': Identifying an Icon