Tele-Elmarit 90mm black chrome. This is an early black-barrel model born at Leitz Canada, with a sharp-looking red scale. The Leitz catalogue number is 11800. Serial number in the 2,140,000 range, made in 1965.

Despite being a telephoto lens, it is close in length to a 50mm lens and compact enough to fit in the palm of your hand. The beautifully machined knurling, reminiscent of an early Summilux, and its elegant form are both superb. Its moderate weight and the easy-to-operate helicoid position also make it wonderfully practical. With a useful maximum aperture of f2.8 and a rendering that has just the right amount of softness, it is highly regarded for the beauty of the images it produces. A compact Leitz short telephoto that is very handy to keep tucked away in a camera bag.

The black-barrel Tele-Elmarit with red lettering is quite rare. It followed soon after the first chrome-barrel version introduced in 1964. Simply changing the lettering color gives the lens a very different impression. With its sharp appearance, somewhat reminiscent of a black paint Summilux 50mm f1.4, it should pair beautifully with black paint Leica M3, M2, and M4 bodies.

This is an item previously sold by our shop. It was carefully used by its owner and has once again found its way back to us. This is now the fifth time we have offered it for sale. Welcome home!

There is the tiniest trace of black paint wear on the knurled part of the distance ring, and slight marks from hood attachment and removal at the front of the barrel. Other than that, there are hardly any signs of use, and the exterior remains beautifully deep black and glossy. An exceptional 95% condition example, very close to like new.

Fully overhauled in 2024. Thanks to the careful servicing, both the aperture and helicoid still operate very smoothly. Rangefinder coupling is spot-on.

Matching its beautiful exterior, the glass is also in excellent condition, with no noticeable cleaning marks or haze.

The original box with matching serial number is also included, making this a fine choice for a collection. A truly hard-to-find example in this condition.

Sold in store while still being prepared for listing. Thank you very much.