{
  "id": 18480743,
  "title": "A forgotten Leica prototype could fetch €500,000 at auction – and only one working camera exists in the world",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/a-forgotten-leica-prototype-could-fetch-500-000-at-auction-and-only",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-11-06T09:15:56.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Digital Camera World",
    "slug": "digital-camera-world",
    "url": "https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/cameras/a-forgotten-leica-prototype-could-fetch-eur500-000-at-auction-and-only-one-working-camera-exists-in-the-world"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A rare Leica prototype from the 1950s is set to be auctioned with an estimated value of €400,000 to €500,000, making it one of the most valuable cameras of its kind. Only one functioning example of this prototype exists, bearing serial number 000.01. Developed as an ultra-compact half-frame camera, this Leica Box measured just 100 x 64 x 48mm and captured 18 x 24mm images on 35mm film. Among other notable items at the 49th Leitz Photographica Auction in Wetzlar, Germany on November 28, a Leica R6 camera once owned by famed documentary photographer Sebastião Salgado is estimated to fetch €28,000 to €32,000. The auction also includes a rare first edition of Salgado's photobook \"Workers,\" a newly released Leica Summicron-M 66mm f/2 lens, and a Leica M10-P Safari prototype.",
  "summary": "Sebastião Salgado's Leica that photographed Kuwait's burning oil fields is heading to auction – alongside a remarkable prototype that could fetch €500,000",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}