"Shaking like a little child": "Bares for Rares" dealer auctioned camera for 14 million euros

Created: 07/17/2022, 04:55

By: Claire Weiss

The "Bares for Rares" dealer Wolfgang Pauritsch achieves a success that he will probably not soon forget.

© Instagram/Bares for Rares

Wolfgang Pauritsch recently managed the most lucrative deal of his career.

The "Bares for Rares" dealer auctioned off a 100-year-old Leica camera for an unbelievable price.

He even broke a world record.

"A few days ago I was allowed to auction a Leica camera, and that was the personal camera of the inventor of the 35mm camera, Oskar Barnack," says Wolfgang Pauritsch in an Instagram video.

Oskar Barnack (1879-1936) revolutionized photography because he was asthmatic and invented the Leica so that he no longer had to carry heavy equipment.

Heated bidding war for vintage Leica camera from “Bares for Rares” dealers

On June 11, Wolfgang Pauritsch offered the Leica for sale at the Leitz Photographica Auction, the world's most prestigious auction for vintage cameras and accessories.

According to leica-camera.com, there was a heated bidding war.

Wolfgang Pauritsch says in an Instagram video that he "trembled like a child".

"I was able to knock down a hammer price of no less than 12 million euros," says the art and antiques dealer, "plus premium it was 14.4 million"

.

This success is an absolute highlight for the "Bares for Rares" dealer.

"I'll never be able to top that again," he is certain.

Cash for Rares dealer breaks a world record

With this incredible price, Wolfgang Pauritsch's camera breaks a record: it is now the most expensive camera of all time. 

Smurfs, crosses, food: the strangest deals in "Bares for Rares" in pictures

View photo gallery

Not all auctioneers are as successful as Pauritsch.

"Bares for Rares" dealer Fabian has made a real bad buy.

He spent 3000 euros and didn't realize that the item was brand new and not antique.