LUDWIG Leitz, son of Ernst Leitz II who was 'midwife' to the Leica 35mm cameras, once said to me: 'You see, Mr Barnack was a fine engineer but a simple man, who was not able to make the case for his camera to a directorial board.Leitz was explaining to me why Oskar Barnack sat outside the boardroom when the fate of his camera was being decided. This was something that had baffled people for many years. The other Tumour' was that Barnack had been poached from Zeiss to work for Leitz. In fact, Barnack was a weekly wage earner - Ludwig Leitz showed me the document - who was free to move as he wished. If he had been a salaried employee, the two companies would have needed to agree the move formally.
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