This Leica MP “John Botte” Took 2 Years to Make

A custom Leica MP "John Botte" camera has been listed for sale at the upcoming Leitz Photographica Auction. The camera belonged to John Botte, a photographer renowned for his work on the 9/11 attacks. As an ex-police officer, Botte was able to access the scene of the tragedy on September 11, 2001, and was responsible for capturing almost all the famous images that came out of the tragic events that day.

The camera’s engraving work took a whole two years to finish, based on a design from Botte himself. The craftsman later told Botte that he would never do another one during his lifetime, making this custom Leica a truly unique piece both in terms of its artistic aesthetic and reportage heritage. After the bodywork was finished, the camera spent most of its life in Leica Store Miami on display, carefully guarded and maintained.

If you’re interested in bidding for this truly unique and historically iconic Leica MP "John Botte," you can head over to the Leitz Photographica Auction site to learn more. The starting price of the camera will be €60,000 EUR, or around $67,380 USD.

And for more design news, here’s a full look at Sarah Andelman & Darcel Disappoints’ "FÖRNYAD" IKEA collaboration.

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Today we present a very special camera: Leica MP "John Botte" * ? A unique and stunningly impressive Leica MP, this camera has been engraved after a design from John Botte. The work took more than 2 years to be completed and the craftsman told Mr. Botte about his decision to never do another one during his life span. His name "Alfano" is engraved on top plate next to the serial number. The related parts have been submitted unfinished directly from the Leitz factory to John Botte. After finishing, the camera was most of the time on display at the Leica Store Miami. John Botte is the renown photographer of almost all of the famous photographs taken on September 11 of 2001 and aftermath, known as ´9/11´ He is a former police officer and therefore had been almost exclusively granted access to the horrifying scene, finally named ´Ground Zero´ This Leica MP is truly, what we would call "one of a kind" and among the finest collector pieces in the world. It is also an important historical statement commemorating the tragic events of 9/11. Starting price 60.000 EUR Our complete catalogue will be available in the next weeks. For more information about buying and selling cameras in our auction visit: www.leitz-auction.com #leitz #vintage #leitzauction #cameraauction #leica #wetzlarauction #rarecamera

A post shared by Leitz Photographica Auction (@leitz_photographica_auction) on May 9, 2019 at 6:32am PDT

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