1931 Leica camera sold at an auction

VIENNA - Agence France-Presse

The camera was used to shoot a US sailor kissing a young nurse in NY.

A 1931 Leica camera has sold for 528,000 euros at an auction that included rare photos and the camera that snapped an iconic shot of an American sailor kissing a nurse the day World War II ended.

The rare Leica, which belonged to German winemaker Karl Henkell, fetched more than three and a half times the expected price at the Vienna sale held by auctioneers Westlicht on Saturday.

Other models by the famed German camera firm also fetched far higher prices than expected.

A prototype Leica M3 estimated at 70,000 euros sold for 432,000, and a prototype Leica Reporter 250 estimated at 30,000 euros fetched 240,000.

The camera used by German-born American photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt to shoot his famous picture of a US sailor bending over and kissing a young nurse in New York’s Times Square during victory celebrations after Japan surrendered on August 14, 1945 sold for 114,000 euros.