Margaret Bourke-White's Rolleiflex Automat (Type 3) twin lens reflex camera, serial number 856598, used to photograph Joseph Stalin in 1941 for a portrait which appeared on the cover of Life Magazine on March 29, 1943. The lens is a Tessar 1:3.5/f=7.5cm by Carl Zeiss Jena, serial number 2487162. Mounted on a display stand. In very good to fine condition (working condition unknown). Provenance: The Naylor Collection, Guernsey's, 2007. This was originally sold with an attached Rolleiflash gun, which is no longer present. Noted camera collector Jack Naylor became acquainted with Margaret Bourke-White during World War II, and they remained lifelong friends. Naylor's collection featured a number of items from Bourke-White, including photographs taken by her and camera equipment attributed to her use and ownership. Bourke-White had been the first foreign photographer permitted to take pictures of the Soviet five-year plan, and was the only foreign photographer in Moscow when German forces invaded. In her 1941 essay 'How I Photographed Stalin and Hopkins Inside the Kremlin,' she described Stalin's physical appearance and personality during their photo session. Accompanied by a complete copy of the 1943 issue of Life featuring Bourke-White's portrait of Stalin on the cover.
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