Where did the Red Shutter Blinds come from?
The real origin of the red shutter curtain material appears to have been ruinously obscured by theories over the past couple decades. Some say that the material was red parachute fabric (I like that one). Whereas, others say it was a special experimental material that just didn’t work out, and still others say it was some replacement material of unknown origin used by Leitz during a time of wartime shortages. None of these scenarios appear to be accurate. Lahue and Bailey comment in Glass, Brass, & Chrome (p.45ff), that Leitz had been supplied with shutter curtain material by the American manufacturers of Graflex until the beginning of the War. They go on to mention a few rare post-WWII Leicas that had red and black curtains as a result of a postWar agreement with Graflex. The authors of this book are clearly well informed but it is clear that they are not referring to the red shutter curtains used in this example which was built in the midst of WWII. However, the most reliable informa
