Iconic camera equipment used by Jacqueline Kennedy is now up for sale on eBay.
Before marrying into the Kennedy family, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (née Bouvier) was a photographer in her own right. After graduating George Washington University she began working for the Washington Times-Herald in 1951 as the “Inquiring Camera Girl”. Much like Brandon Stanton of Humans of New York, she would take photographs of people she met, ask them questions and turned it into a newspaper column. She covered Dwight D. Eisenhower’s inauguration and the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. It was during this time she met her future husband John F. Kennedy, who would go on to be elected President on the United States in 1961
The camera and two lenses are a 1960s-era Leicaflex with a 50mm Summicron-R (despite the picture showing an Elmarit-R 28mm f/2.8), a Leica Summicron-R 50mm f/2 lens on the block, and a Nikon 35mm f/2.8.
The prices are steep but not unreasonable at US$8,995 for the Leicaflex, $2,750 for the Summicron-R and $2,500 for the Nikon lens. The description explain that the camera and two lenses were owned and used by Jacqueline Kennedy. Also included are “the original receipt from Sotheby’s as well as several photographs of Jackie using cameras, including an image of her using a similar, or possibly this very camera.”
To read more about what’s on offer, you can visit the eBay auction page here.