Expert: David Silver - 5/14/2011

Question
Hello David:  I have suddenly become heir to the position of Executor of an Estate which has a modest collection of Zeiss Leica equipment (10+ bodies, 25+ lenses, lightmeters, rangefinders, cases, etc....) and I would ask if you could please direct me to some web sites that can help me identify exactly what I have to deal with and what reasonable values might be expected?  

All equipment is in good to excellent condition.  I live in Canada, and am daunted by the task ahead of me... LOL... there are over 600 cameras in the total collection, but the Rolliflex, Yashica med. format, Nikon and Canons I can work out myself.  The vintage Graphlex 4x5 (complete with flash, 12 holders, instructions and original gray carrying case, and other bits and bobs) is also giving me a hard time... LOL  The owner was a camera pack-rat!!

Absolutely ANY direction would be sincerely appreciated.  Thank you.

Laura

Answer

Hello Laura,

Good Lord, you have your hands full!  Being an executor is often a horrible thankless job!  But Laura, I *am* the source you need to figure all this out!  There are no web sites out there that can effectively offer the breadth and depth of information you need, and definitely no accurate guides to value.  It would take you untold weeks and weeks of grueling research to even scratch the surface, and that's just not necessary when an expert like me can tell you everything almost immediately.  Contact me at the e-mail address below with whatever list you've made so far and with small (emphasis on small, please!) pictures as you have them available.  I will not only help you get all of it identified, but I'll also gladly help you sell it.  Please understand, NOBODY buys whole collections, it was never the case before and in today's economy it is completely out of the question, so you may need to sell every single item individually.  It could take you the better part of a year to liquidate the collection on your own, plus you have the added disadvantage of being in Canada when the market is really in the USA!  And if you hand it over to a general estate sales service or an auction house you'll be lucky to get anywhere near half the fair value in return.  No good!  I can help you do MUCH better than that.  So contact me with whatever information you can share right now, and I'll jump right in to see what I can do to make this all a lot easier for you...

Best wishes,

David F. Silver - President
International Photographic Historical Organization

silver@photographyhistory.com