This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Leica 1. And to celebrate its centenary, Leica has announced a range of collectibles – including a pair of partnerships with similar prestige brands, Steiff and Faber-Castell.
There are, of course, a host of accessories for the best Leica cameras, including commemorative hot shoe covers and soft release shutter buttons featuring the Leica 100 logo.
However, the highlight of the collection is far cuter. Just as the Leica red dot is iconic to camera aficionados, so the Steiff button-in-ear is the sign of the highest quality for arctophiles.
Leica and Steiff have released extremely special edition Ernst and Elsie teddy bears, limited to 500 apiece and priced at £520 (US and Australian pricing to follow), in honor of Ernst Leitz II and his daughter Elsie Kühn-Leitz. Each hand-crafted bear wears fabric clothing and comes with a miniature Leica camera complete with carrying strap.
The third member of the family is called Cuddle, a non-limited edition bear with a much lower price tag (though he's no less loveable!) who will be available later in the year, bearing a soft Leica camera of his own.
Other highlights of the collection include a wooden 3D puzzle of the Leica I, along with the fruits of collaboration with Faber-Castell featuring a Leica M Crafting Set (where you can use coloring pencils to design your very own, unique Leica design), and the "Perfect Pencil" and ballpoint "Perfect Pen".
The Ernst and Elsie Steiff bears, Crafting Set and 3D puzzle are available this month, the Perfect Pen and Pencil will release in February, while Cuddle, the hot shoe cover, soft shutter release and other accessories will follow in May.
You can find out more about the Leica 100 Years products at the official Leica microsite.
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