Stubner mouth operated cable release. MQUOO – 14084 Leitz cable code
Toronto. In the 1950s, the German company Stubner (or Stuber – did he work for Leitz?) made these cable releases. When sold by Leitz for the Leica, they were signed Leitz on the raised button and a 10 inch cable release for screw mount cameras was included. The Leitz cable code for this mouth release and the associated shutter release cable was MQUOO and later 14084. The tiny accessory allows one to snap a shot off by mouth, freeing up a hand. It was intended to stabilize exposures but proved helpful to the handicapped as well.
In April of 1982, Alex Thomas gave me the piece shown, as a gift. “The Leica version is marked as Leitz”, he said. “This one has no markings but appears identical to the marked version”. Actually, the earlier ones were signed Leitz and had rounded/pointed ends instead of flat ends. At the time I knew Alex, he was both a PHSC member and a fair attendee. He had a store in nearby Orchard Park, NY.
According to Hove, the MQUOO was made in 1954. Jim Lager also states it was made in 1954. Both my 1960 catalogue and my 1955-58 catalogue reprint by Hove list it while my 1933 and 1936 catalogue reprints do not. It is mentioned as for the screw mount cameras yet it was sold when the M3 arrived. Morgan and Lester’s Leica Manual (13th edition, 1955) mentions it as for all but the M3 (page 33 photo) but it isn’t in the index. Stuber/Stubner seems to have disappeared as far as the internet is concerned.
