LEICA "POSTKAMERA" FROM THE 1930S

The Leica 'Postkamera' cameras were first used in 1935 for a unique and unconventional application: recording phone call counters in postal centers across Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, and some smaller countries. The negatives produced were then read using a desktop projection device, and the information collected from numerous call counters on a single negative was utilized to prepare the monthly bills for subscribers³².

Designed for efficiency, the 'Postkamera' was particularly well-suited for quickly and accurately photographing call counters in automatic telephone exchange centers. In the 1930s, the 'Postkamera' was a non-rangefinder model resembling the Leica Standard Model E camera. It operated at a shutter speed of 1/20th of a second, and was equipped with a wide-angle f/3.5 lens, which could be stopped down to f/4.5 or f/6.3 during use³².

The camera and lens were mounted on a large, pyramid-shaped housing. The lens was permanently focused on the area covered by the truncated top of the housing, which was easily aligned over the 100 call counters using registration pins. Once positioned, lights inside the housing would turn on automatically, and the exposure would occur when the unit was pressed against the call counter board³².

With experience, operators could photograph up to 10,000 telephone call counters in just one hour while using only three rolls of film³².