Jacqueline Kennedy's personally-owned and -used Nikon Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4 camera lens, serial no. 5286561, manufactured in the 1970s. Complete with front and rear lens caps. In fine condition. Provenance: Sotheby's, February 2005 Kennedy Homes Auction; ex. The Frank Harvey Kennedy Collection. Accompanied by copies of the Sotheby's invoice and several images of Kennedy holding various types of cameras.
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 lens existing as a unique extension of one of Kennedy's foremost passions.
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