1955-1959. 35mm film, rangefinder camera. Officially Leica started manufacturing black paint cameras in 1959, starting with 959401 serial number. Before this, some models were made in black paint by special orders. The earliest example is from 746* s/n range, but most of the special orders were done around 916xxx, 917xxx, 918xxx, 919xxx and 951xxx ranges, according to Jo Geier. There are about 20 cameras known so far. These are the serial numbers known to the CollectiBlend:

918465