Zeiss Ikon Contax II Black Paint

Original and unique Contax II in black paint finish, with uncommon version of a collapsible Carl Zeiss Sonnar 2/5cm T no.2709698 with dark burnished brass tube. Shutter, viewfinder and rangefinder are fully functional, the black paint is original, but partly worn. it is a straight Dresden Contax in all respects, made during the war, well ahead of the (post-war) Jena model. All mechanical and optical parts are of Dresden manufacture, not a single part is of Jena (or even Kiev) origin. The painted parts of this camera have never been chrome plated - they were only planned to be, as a faint copper plating of the shutter speed ring and the winding knob suggest (the brass sheet metal parts are just painted raw brass). It also shows that the individual parts were black painted before they were screwed or riveted together and not after the assembly. Until now only a few black Contax II were discovered and all are post-war Jena Contax cameras made shortly after the war to test the acceptance of this finish. This camera is the only genuine black paint Dresden camera known to exist. Expertise by Dr. Milos Mladek, Vienna