Lot Essay
This camera was originally owned by Michael Rougier a Life magazine staff phtographer and was used on assignments covering the Korean War for Life.
According to Rougier when on patrol with the United States military carrying his shiny new Nikon cameras they complained that the cameras would cause reflections and give away their position. They asked him to do something about it. Together Rougier and David Douglas Duncan went to their contacts at Nikon and persuaded them to anodise their cameras black. This was done by the Nikon company at the Nikon factory, several cameras being done at the same time. Rougier, who was also using a Leica at the time, asked Nikon to make this black, which they refused.
Rotoloni (p. 23) records that a small batch of Nikon cameras were finished in black 'presumably' for Life magazine. This is the first recorded example.
According to Rougier when on patrol with the United States military carrying his shiny new Nikon cameras they complained that the cameras would cause reflections and give away their position. They asked him to do something about it. Together Rougier and David Douglas Duncan went to their contacts at Nikon and persuaded them to anodise their cameras black. This was done by the Nikon company at the Nikon factory, several cameras being done at the same time. Rougier, who was also using a Leica at the time, asked Nikon to make this black, which they refused.
Rotoloni (p. 23) records that a small batch of Nikon cameras were finished in black 'presumably' for Life magazine. This is the first recorded example.