Late photographer Charles Gatewood’s Leica M2 camera is up for sale for $16K

Artist David Glenn Rinehart met the late photographer Charles Gatewood in the late 80s when Gatewood moved to San Francisco. Based on Gatewood’s body of work, which comprises a diverse range of subjects, including social protest, alternative culture, celebrity portraits, rock and roll, body modification and much more, Rinehart expected Gatewood to be intimidating or ‘maybe even a little scary,’ but that was so far from the truth of Charles Gatewood.

Throughout his career, Gatewood, who died at age 73 in San Francisco in 2016, did just about everything. He was a prolific photographer, writer, videographer, and educator. He wrote over a dozen books and featured in about 50 solo exhibitions.

Rinehart made a website for Gatewood to use as a ‘calling card’ when trying to sell his archive, and Gatewood gifted Rinehart the Leica M2 that he used to capture many of his famous photos. Rinehart is now selling the camera and 50mm Dual-Range Summicron lens, with the proceeds going to Rinehart’s favorite nonprofit organization. The listing has garnered some attention, so Rinehart will wait until October 1 to sell it, hoping to maximize his charitable donation. You can learn more about the sale on Craigslist.

Charles Gatewood’s Leica M2 and 50mm lens. Image courtesy of David Glenn Rinehart.

Rinehart’s website for Gatewood did help Gatewood’s archives find a home. They are located at the University of California’s Bancroft Library in Berkeley. Gatewood’s archives include approximately 83,000 negatives and prints, documentary videos, manuscripts, diaries and more. Unfortunately, there’s no online version of the archive.

However, thanks to the Wayback Machine internet archive, you can see some of Gatewood’s work and learn more about his career. You can also view more of Gatewood’s work at Vice and Sensitive Skin. Among many awards and accolades, Gatewood earned Leica’s Medal of Excellence for Outstanding Humanistic Photojournalism in 1985 for his book ‘Wall Street.’

Image courtesy of David Glenn Rinehart