M3 courtesy of Ken Rockwell – please visit his web site
Toronto. Hands down, Leitz had a winner on its hands when they launched the Leica M series with the flagship M3 model in 1954. The M series covered the issues professionals had with the screw mount Leicas.
Design of the new series began decades earlier before WW2. Prototypes like the Leica IV are in the Leitz museum. You can see more online at Ken Rockwell’s site or read books like Dennis Laney’s 1992 opus, “Leica Collectors Guide” published in England by Hove.
Note, the title of this post is borrowed from Gilbert & Sullivan’s operetta, HMS Pinafore. The song, Never mind the Why and Wherefore is sung here by the English National Opera.
