[rollei_list] Re: Karl Heitz, RIP (Query: Mechancial Cameras)

  • From: Bob Shell <bob@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2005 06:28:03 -0400

On Monday, April 11, 2005, at 10:49  PM, Douglas Shea wrote:

> Is the list aware that Karl Heitz died a few months ago? He left the
> business to his longtime employee Loretta Rosa and from what I 
> understand
> she will be transferring ownership to one of the technicians (his name
> escapes me at the moment).
>
> My father gave me a 9d for my thirteenth birthday (he was already a 5 
> and 6b
> user). I am such a hopeless Alpa fanatic that on my first visit to NYC 
> when
> I was fifteen, with all that NY has to offer the tourist, I was 
> insistent
> that my first order of business was to visit Karl Heitz back when he 
> was in
> the D&D Building. I spent the entire afternoon there and he could not 
> have
> been more gracious to a snotty nosed kid with obviously very little 
> money to
> spend; he very patiently brought out just about every lens and 
> accessory
> available for the cameras for me to handle. I think I ended up buying a
> braided leather neck strap, but remember the experience like it was
> yesterday.
>

I was not aware of Karl's death.  It saddens me.  I got to know him 
back in the early 70s when my camera shop was an Alpa dealer.  He was 
gracious and had an old world charm.  When I went to the major photo 
trade shows I used to always make time to visit with him.  He was 
treated rather shabbily by Alpa when they pulled distribution from him 
and gave it to TAG based on promises of much higher sales volume that 
never materialized, and later by Gitzo which he had made into a major 
product in the USA.

Unless he has also died, I would assume that it is Dominic who is 
taking over the business.

Bob

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