Leica M6 Platinum Bruckner

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Leica M6 Platinum Bruckner Edition: I am not sure how many musical Leicas there are, but this is one of them. 200 Platinum M6's were made in 1996 to honor the Austrian composer Anton Bruckner 100 years after his death. They were commissioned by the Austrian distributor of Leica, Leitz-Austria. The camera comes with a special platinum 50/2.8 Elmar. Both the lens and camera body are engraved "Anton Bruckner 1824-1896." The top plate goes one further, with an engraving of the composer's handsome profile. Since the serial number of this camera is 2278186, I believe the serial number range is 2278001 to 2278211, though this range was listed as being "M6 platinum Brunei" in the serial number list I got from Leica.

The body covering is gray-blue embossed Iguana, although I can't imagine the relationship between the Iguana and Bruckner which made this appropriate. Maybe Iguanas like Bruckner's music. Normally of course iguana is not capitalized. I capitalize it out of respect for the noble beast who gave his life to decorate this camera. How often do you have the truly incredible opportunity to buy a rare special edition Leica, classical music CD's, and a dead lizard's skin all packaged together as a set? Wow.

Besides the regular Leica serial number, there is a second serial number on the other accessory shoe rail. The 2nd serial range runs 00-01 to 09-20, commemorating the 10 Bruckner symphonies. The first two digits represent each of the 10 symphonies, with 20 cameras being assigned to each, which results in the 200 Bruckner Leicas. It seems the good composer did not like on of his creations, withdrawing it and giving it the number zero, and so 0 to 9 instead of 1 to 9. Besides a beautiful wood presentation box and certificate of authenticity, I think this is the only Leica to leave the factory with its own music, a 12 volume CD set of Anton's music. If you love Anton's wonderful music, you have got to love this camera. Iguana lovers, on the other paw, may have different thoughts. Rumors of a Hard Rock Commemorative M series, using a body covering of panties thrown on the stage, have not been confirmed. We we can only hope.

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Revised: August 26, 2008. Copyright � 1999-2008 Stephen Gandy. All rights reserved. Information in this document is subject to change without notice. Other products and companies referred to herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies or mark holders.