How to repair leather camera case for 1950s Rolleicord?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I have my father’s old camera, a Rolleicord he bought in 1955, and I’m passing it down to my nephew. It has the original leather case for it but the old leather cracked and broke. See pic below.

The leather case has two parts that were originally connected (this is where the break is): (A) what I’ll call the main case, usually stays on the camera body all the time even while shooting photos; and (B) the removable cover that you remove while shooting and then when done shooting, you attach it back onto the camera so that the entire camera is covered.

Parts (A) and (B) are, or were, connected by a flap of old leather that acts like a hinge. When shooting photos, (B) hangs down. The Rolleicord is a rectangular box. (A) covers 4 sides of this box and (B) covers the remaining 2 sides, the lens on the front of the box, and the viewfinder on top of the box.

It’s this ‘hinge connector’ connecting (A) and (B) that has broken.

Any suggestions for how to repair this?

I hope I’ve described this adequately. Hopefully this pic helps.

This doesn’t really belong in @Johnny_L.A’s film photography thread (➜ The Omnibus Film Photography Thread - #2 by Johnny_L.A ■ ), so I’m posting this here.

The Omnibus Film Photography Thread
2

Having watched many episodes of The Repair Shop, you need a leather worker who does repair work.

3

Possibly, but I don’t think the repair should be done with leather.

This hinge moves a lot so I’m thinking that grafting a flap onto the case is the way to go, and perhaps the flap should be made of another material, not leather.

4

Leather was used as a hinge material for centuries if not millennia. You’re correct it’s a weak spot compared to modern materials. But for leather that was/is maintained, It’ll last a good long time. As in multiple decades of regular use.

How important is it to retain the appearance of the original equipment? For some folks that’d be essential, for others it wouldn’t matter a bit.

5

I would just buy a used case on eBay:

6

I’ve done some leather book binding. A tad bit of other leather work.

My stuff was way cruder than the leather working you’ll need. It’s not that easy to work with.

I’d look for a saddlery or luggage place. If you call around you’ll get a wide variety of estimates.

Yeah, professional all the way. I have no clue of value you’re looking at. It looks well loved. So give it to someone who can love it some more. Properly repaired

Good luck

Wanna see after pix.