Lot 202, JPS "Spy Camera" Disguised in a Cigarette Packet. Metal 'packet' ; hammer price : £29,000. Aston’s Auctioneers / mediadrumimages.com

By Mark McConville

 

A BRITISH auction house has just sold a number of Soviet spy cameras including one disguised as a JPS cigarette packet for £29k.

Lot 200, “Spy Camera” Disguised as Hand Lamp; h/p: £2,900. 00.
Aston’s Auctioneers / mediadrumimages.com

 

Incredible images show the realistic cigarette packet camera as well as other subtle designs including an umbrella spy camera, a handbag with a built-in cine camera for female spies and a KGB-designed button disguise.

Lot 177, Ladies Clutch Bag with Spy Camera Fittings; h/p: £2,900.
Aston’s Auctioneers / mediadrumimages.com

 

Other items included a spy camera disguised to look like a regular Zenit E 35mm SLR which went for £3,300, a man’s jacket fitted with a 1970s spy camera and a ladies clutch bag with spy camera fittings.

Lot 399, Man’s Jacket with fitting for 1970s Spy Camera, h/p: £1,000.
Aston’s Auctioneers / mediadrumimages.com

 

Aston’s Auctioneers, based near Birmingham in the UK, have recently shifted 25 of these rare USSR-era cameras.

Umbrella Spy Camera. F-21 AJAX-12; h/p: £2,700.
Aston’s Auctioneers / mediadrumimages.com

 

The Zenit lookalike comes complete with a leather case that even has the brand’s name etched on it and sold for more than 20 times its original estimated value of £150.

Lot 178, Handbag with Built-in Cine Camera for the Female Spy; h/p: £2,800.
Aston’s Auctioneers / mediadrumimages.com

 

One of the most intriguing design features is that the real lens actually points out the side of the model, allowing the user to take pictures discreetly at a 90 degree angle, using a button on the bottom of the product so as not to arouse suspicion.

Lot 178, Handbag with Built-in Cine Camera for the Female Spy; h/p: £2,800.
Aston’s Auctioneers / mediadrumimages.com

 

All of the items listed were manufactured between 1942 and 1990, and are all still in working order.