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According to Legend, in Tokyo in June 1950, a young Japanese photographer, Jun Miki, a part-timer for ‘Life’ magazine showed two American photojournalists, David Duncan and Horace Bristol, some prints he had taken with a barely known ‘Nikkor’ lens on a Leica 35mm camera. They were both sufficiently impressed to arrange for a trip for the three of them to the nearby Nippon Kogaku factory where they were given a demonstration and a comparison between the Nikkors and the lenses made by Leitz and Zeiss.
Duncan was so convinced by the superiority of the Nikkors over the German lenses of that time that he purchased a set. When the Korean War broke out a few days later he used them on his Leica bodies throughout his coverage of the war.
His negatives were sent back to Life’s New York office for printing and publication. The technicians asked if he was using a plate camera and considered that the sharpness of the photographs was better than anything they had previously seen from 35mm negatives.
Other Life photojournalists started using Nikkors and some purchased Nippon Kogaku’s rangefinder Nikon Cameras which they found to be more reliable in the severe Korean winter.
Experts examined both the camera and lenses and in December the New York Times ran an article in praise of the equipment.
A myth developed that Life magazine was so impressed with the results that they ordered a special batch of black painted Nikon S bodies for their staff. The black finish made them less conspicuous on the battlefield and some had larger wind-on and rewind knobs for easier handling with gloves.
The story remained a myth for decades until diligent research by Nikon Rangefinder Guru, Robert Rotoloni, published photographs in his seminal book and journal in 2007. A very small number of contenders have emerged, some with the mythical large knobs, others without but with adequate provenance.
Body number 6108685, owned by Katsuhara Takashima was the first to be examined by Rotoloni in 1987. This had the standard rewind knobs. The lens was an all black f1.4 Nikkor 331242.
This was sold at the Leitz photographic Auction in Vienna in November 2023 and fetched €48,000.
No. 6112267 surfaced at a Photo Show in Tokyo in 2004.
This also had the standard rewind knobs.
No. 6105936 was the first to be seen with the larger winding knobs. It had been owned by Tatsuhico Arakara since the 1950’s and was pictured in his books. It is now in the Nikon Museum in Tokyo.
No. 6101424, with provenance linked to ‘Life’s’ Carl Mydans, came up in a Boston auction in 2007 and fetched $28,200. It is documented in Robert Rotoloni’s Nikon Historical Society Journal, number 97.
No. 6112580 surfaced at the Austrian WestLicht Auction in 2013. Owned by Nikon Sales Manager Mr. Sanetoshi Kuratsuji. It sold for $66,000.
This camera has been sold again recently at OstLicht in June 2024 for €45,000.
It is thought that about 15 black Nikon S were produced from chrome bodies but only 3-4 were made with black paint on the original brass body shell.
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