Rare Leica MP black paint camera sells for nearly $700,000
A Leica MP black paint no. MP-33 brought €600,000 in Wetzlar, showing how rarity, provenance, and black-paint patina can outrun pure shooting value.
A black-paint Leica MP that left the factory in 1957 just became another reminder that collectible Leica bodies live in a market of their own. Leica MP black paint no. MP-33 sold for €600,000, including buyer’s premium, at the 48th Leitz Photographica Auction at the World of Leica in Wetzlar, Germany, after carrying an estimate of €700,000 to €800,000. For most photographers, that number is absurd on its face. For Leica collectors, it is the kind of result that follows a camera with the right mix of rarity, documentation, finish, and myth.
The MP’s appeal starts with how few were made. Leica says only 402 MP cameras were produced in total, and just 141 of them were finished in black paint. The model was first unveiled at Photokina in Cologne in 1956, after requests from prominent American press photographers for an M-series camera paired with the Leicavit rapid winder. Leica also notes that the MP was the only serial model with its own individual numbering, unlike other Leica cameras that used fabrication numbers. That makes MP-33 not just a scarce body, but the 33rd example in a dedicated sequence, the kind of detail collectors prize because it gives the camera an identity as well as a history.
This example came with the kind of paperwork and matching accessories that push a camera deeper into trophy territory. According to the auction listing, MP no. 33 was delivered to Brandt in Sweden on July 29, 1957, and the matching black paint Leicavit followed on July 30, 1957. It was accompanied by a black paint and brass-mount Summicron 2/5cm lens, no. 1474885. On black-paint Leicas, that brass wear and patina are not flaws to be corrected away. They are part of the object’s appeal, the visual record of use that makes each surviving camera look a little different from the next.
The sale also showed that even in a hot segment, bidders stay selective. A Leica Ig prototype no. 750000 brought €540,000, while the Leica MP chrome no. MP-368 “Tazio Secchiaroli” went unsold. Leica and Leitz Photographica have said demand for black-paint bodies has surged over the past decade, with prices climbing into the seven-digit euro range. A black-paint Leica IIIg sold for €408,000 in June 2021, a Leica MP black paint no. 55 brought €350,000 in November 2021, and MP black paint no. 114 was reported sold for €900,000 including premium in 2025. That is the split in this market: one side is a camera, the other is a numbered piece of Leica mythology.
This article was produced by Prism’s automated news system from verified source data, official records, and press releases, then run through automated quality and moderation checks before publishing. The system is built and supervised by the people who set the standards it runs under. Read our full AI policy.
Did this article answer your question?
