Long time [NR] contributor Ron Volmershausen sent me a note about this very rare Nikon F camera currently listed on eBay (last bid $2,204):
This listing on eBay is going to create a bit of a ‘stir’ amongst the collectors; the 87th Nikon F to roll off the production line, way back in 1959. The seller didn’t know what they had until a few eBay members started asking for more photos and info.
While early examples like this come up from time to time; this is one of the rarer examples as the body still has the original cloth-type shutter curtain… a feature leftover from the rangefinder days:
It’s not known exactly how many F bodies were supplied with the cloth curtains but I’ve read some estimates that put it at only around 100 or so.
Everything else on the body appears to be original, as per the period.
It’s going to be interesting to see what happens with this listing as it’s a *real* eBay auction… with no hidden reserve and a starting price of only 99 cents.
Last time I saw an F this early (that was up for sale) was when Gray’s of Westminster listed one for around US$250,000… that one turned out to be a forgery, forged by someone in Japan.
What’s lovely about it all is that the camera is part of the seller’s grandfather’s collection. The grandfather passed away several years ago so the seller has been slowly selling off what he left behind.
