Jacqueline Kennedy's personally-owned and -used Nikon F single-lens reflex, manual focus camera, serial no. 6796318, fitted with a Nikkor 35-135mm 1:3.5-4.5 zoom lens and leather strap. The serial number dates the camera to between December 1966 and March 1967. In fine cosmetic condition; working condition unknown. Provenance: Sotheby's, February 2005 Kennedy Homes Auction; ex. The Frank Harvey Kennedy Collection.
Well before she became the focal point of the world's paparazzi, Jacqueline Kennedy was making a name for herself behind the camera. In the fall of 1951, a 23-year-old Jacqueline Bouvier landed her first job as the 'Inquiring Camera Girl,' a roving photojournalist position for the Washington Times Herald newspaper that involved taking pictures of people she interviewed on the street. In addition to her coverage of President Eisenhower's 1951 inauguration and Queen Elizabeth II's 1953 coronation, her impromptu photo-shoots led to a chance encounter with a soon-to-be senator from Massachusetts. As photography helped fashion Kennedy's keen eye for detail and framing, she developed a fondness for the craft itself, attesting that she loved 'ferreting out people's secrets and exploring how a photo—an exterior exposure—can reveal their interior.' Synonymous with style and grace, Kennedy's imprint on modern beauty remains unrivaled amongst first ladies, with this camera existing as a unique extension of one of Kennedy's foremost passions.
