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Ernemann Klapp Tropen

The Ernemann Klapp Tropen is the tropicalised variant of Ernemann's Klapp strut-folding plate camera, made in Dresden, Germany in the early twentieth century. Tropen-specification bodies were built with teak wood and brass fittings, intended for photographers working in hot and humid climates where standard leather-covered bodies were prone to failure.

At UK auction, hammer results for the Klapp Tropen have sat roughly between £290 and £650, with a 2023 sale at £338 giving a reasonable mid-point for the small sample. These figures are wholesale saleroom results excluding commission, so what a Klapp Tropen is worth today turns heavily on the condition of the teak, brass, bellows and shutter — a clean, working example sells for noticeably more than a tired one, and retail asking prices from specialist dealers typically run above these auction levels.

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Sales History

Prices shown are UK auction hammer results — the wholesale level achieved in the saleroom. Neither buyer’s nor seller’s commission is included. Dealer and retail asking prices are typically higher.

Date Price Source
Mar 2023 £338 Flints Auctions
Nov 2016 EUR 650 Leitz Auction
Sep 2003 £493 Christie's
Jan 2001 £293 Christie's

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