Compur–Summitar * 2/5cm prototype
1950
Both Summitar * as well as Compur Summicron lenses are among the great rarities of Leica lenses from the 1950s. Most unusual is the combination of both, which actually existed: only six specimens of the Summitar * were completed as central-shutter lenses and so are not only forerunners of the Summicron, but prototypes of the later Compur-Summicron as well. The Summitar * with central shutter mount is almost impossible to find.
Literature: Paul-Henry van Hasbroeck (ed.), Leica, a history illustrating every model and accessory, p. 195, 202.
Photo credit: © WestLicht Photographica Auction