Monday, November 10, 2025

HOW SEAN FLYNN'S LEICA M2 WAS FOUND




The story about Sean Flynn's Leica M2 garnered more interest than I expected.  I received an email from Billy Beach, offering me the back story on how the camera was found.  It is an interesting addition to yesterday’s post about  THE STORY OF SEAN FLYNN’S CAMERA.




By Billy Beach

I'm flying at 483 miles per hour aboard a Delta commercial flight heading to Honolulu from Wilmington, NC. I've got another 3,569 miles to go. I'm reading Michael Herr's "Dispatches" on my google pixel and through my headphones, I'm listening to the "Clash" song "Sean Flynn." What's ironic is that Sean Flynn's camera is sitting in a heavily padded case, wrapped in an East Coast Film Lab t-shirt by my feet. How did I get here?

For those of you who don't know, Sean Flynn was one of a group of Gonzo (high risk) photojournalists during the Vietnam war. These photojournalists would go anywhere do anything to get the shot. They brought back some iconic images of the Vietnam War. Sean even parachuted with the 5th Special Forces Group and the 101st airborne. Flynn was also the only son of the Hollywood swashbuckler actor Errol Flynn. (Captain Blood, The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Charge of the Light Brigade, et al). Sean had a brief recording career and a short lived career as an actor before he found his niche as a war photographer for Paris Match, Time Life and finally United Press International.

On April 6th 1970 on highway one from Phnom Penh on the way to a press conference in Saigon, Sean and his friend Dana Stone (shooting for CBS news) opted to ride motorcycles to get some shots of the VietCong manning a checkpoint.   They were captured by communist guerilla's  en route. The last know still shot taken of them was right before they left and it was taken by Steve Bell, (who later hosted ABC's Good Morning America). Right before the checkpoint a French TV news crew interviewed Sean.

Last known still photo of Sean Flynn and Dana Stone 
on the way to Saigon from Phnom Penh in Cambodia. 
Photo by Steve Bell.

Sean was using his Nikon the day of his capture. His prized Leica M2 was left in his lodgings with his other gear. After his disappearance, John Steinbeck IV, (son of John Steinbeck the author), got hold of Sean's Leica and kept it to pass on to Sean's family. In 1972 Sean's sister Rory was modeling in London. John Steinbeck IV, brought the camera to her, fulfilling his obligation.

Rory kept the camera, hoping that Sean would be found. Sean's mother (the actress Lilli Damita) spent a small fortune, trying to find what happened to Sean, and Rory later helped finance an expedition to find the bodies of her brother and Dana Stone.  The camera stayed in Rory's safe for many years. 

Sean Flynn in Vietnam

I've always been a fan of the actor Errol Flynn, and had read several books on him and his family over the years. Being a photographer I was quite familiar with Sean Flynn and the somewhat crazy photojournalists who photographed the Vietnam war. I knew he was missing and that his and Dana's disappearance was one of the great mysteries of the Vietnam War. While working part-time in the local camera store in Wilmington, NC, I looked over the shoulder of one of the employees while she was scanning some photos. I recognized Errol Flynn and asked who brought the images to the store. She replied "Some woman named Rory." Rory Flynn? Errol Flynn's daughter? She lives here? I had no idea. A few weeks later while working the store Rory came in. I struck up a conversation with her and over the next couple of years a tenuous friendship developed. She mentioned that she had Sean's camera and I asked to see it. Several months later she brought the camera to the store. A very beat up Leica M2 with a 35mm 1.4 Sumilux lens. It had a grenade pin and some parachute cord for a strap. It was heavily brassed but in working order. My jaw fell open. Several months later Rory called me and stated that she realized that  Sean was never coming back and would I help her sell his camera.

I knew this was a historic camera but had no idea of it's value. I got together with my friend and business partner Chad, who is a bit of a genius when it comes to film cameras. We co-own East Coast Film Lab. Our immediate thought was to put it on ebay, and see what an auction would bring. Again, we had no idea of the value and were nervous to have to ship the camera to someone we didn't know. We built a website (seanflynnscamera) with images and the story of the camera. Chad was a devoted follower of Bellamy Hunt the infamous Japan Camera Hunter. Bellamy specializes in rare, hard to find, historic cameras so we reached out to him. Bellamy seems know everyone in the film camera world and he immediately told us he was interested and would help find a buyer. Several months went by with a lot of give and take, but Bellamy found a buyer in Vietnam of all places.

Getting ready to jump

Now the problem was getting the camera to Bellamy in Tokyo. We were very nervous about shipping such a historic camera and the insurance would have been through the roof. I started checking prices on flights to Tokyo. I used to live in Japan, so a trip to Tokyo would have been fun but I couldn't take much time off, so it would have been a very quick trip. I was getting ready to buy my ticket when Bellamy skyped Chad that he would be in Hawaii the following week. I also used to live in Hawaii and being it was December, a trip to Hawaii was shorter, less expensive and a better fit all around. I flew to Honolulu on a Monday, got settled in my hotel and went to meet Bellamy. I met him outside his hotel and handed over the camera. It was bittersweet. I had enjoyed having Sean's camera in my possession but Rory, Chad and I knew it was going to a collector who would treasure and take care of the camera. Going back to Vietnam after all these years was sort of prophetic and I feel we got the right owner. Bellamy will be telling the rest of the story on his website Japan Camera Hunter sometime in the near future. My next trip might be to Vietnam.


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Saturday, November 8, 2025

THE STORY OF SEAN FLYNN'S LEICA M2




By Bellamy Hunt


This is a story about a camera, a rather special camera. Every camera has a history, so they say. But it is not all that often that one has such a rich and documented history. One that was thought to be lost but has been found again. This is the story of Sean Flynn’s Leica M2.

I have been very lucky throughout my career to have found some amazing cameras, but every now and again you come across something that sets itself apart. This is one of those cameras. The vast majority of the cameras I see have no record — you literally have no idea where they have been. But this camera is different, it has a well-documented history that was thought to have been lost. But through a bit of digging and a lot of luck, the history of this camera has revealed itself.

This really is a story of serendipity. I was offered this camera earlier this year by a representative of the Flynn family. As soon as I was told about the history of the camera I knew exactly who would want it. One of my clients has a particular taste for cameras with a history and this was the camera for him.

But first, we should go back and talk a little bit about Sean Flynn.

 

Who Was Sean Flynn?

Sean Flynn was the only child of the famed actor Errol Flynn and Lili Damita and was well known for his work as a photojournalist covering the Vietnam War. Flynn worked closely with special units in Vietnam and Cambodia, capturing incredible images of the war. Many of his images would be considered to be the raw view of an especially brutal war.

 

Flynn even parachuted into war zones with the unit he was embedded with, working side by side with the soldier to capture extremely compelling images.

 

In 1970, he was kidnapped in Cambodia while on the way to an assignment with fellow photojournalist Dana Stone and was never to be seen again.

There were reports that both Flynn and Stone were kidnapped by the Vietcong and then handed to the Khmer Rouge before being executed, but remains were never found. Flynn’s mother spent her life and fortune trying to find a trace of her son, but sadly it was to no avail. Sean Flynn was declared legally dead in 1984.

 

Upon his disappearance, Sean Flynn apparently left behind an apartment in Paris which contained a number of his belongings, most of which went back to the hands of his family and friends, though there is some dispute about this as it seems there were a number of belonging that were missing. One of the pieces that did go back was this camera though. The camera. Sean Flynn’s Leica M2.

 

The Camera

This is Sean Flynn’s Leica M2, with a Steel Rim Leica 35mm Summilux and a strap that was hand fashioned from a parachute cord and a hand grenade pin.

One of the things that makes this camera so special is that we absolutely know where it has been, who it belonged to, and what it has been doing. How do we know this? Because the camera has been doing nothing, absolutely nothing. This camera has been tucked away in a dark corner for more than 30 years. But recently the family finally decided that a new home should be found for it, which is when they found me.

This means that the last person to use the camera was in all likelihood Sean Flynn. To me that makes this camera really special. The camera has a beautiful patina, from heavy usage. But it also has grime, grime that could well have come from Sean Flynn handling the camera. There is dust too, but I would not dare wipe it away. You can see the memories and the marks on the camera, and you can attribute them to someone, which is amazing.

 

This is an important camera due to the nature of ownership, and with that comes a certain amount of responsibility. A camera like this is an important piece of history and needs to be treated as such. Fortunately, I had someone in mind whom I knew would be the perfect person to take care of this remarkable piece.

And this is where the serendipity kicks in. It turns out that the new owner of this camera was not only aware of the history of the camera, but he was friends with Frank Palmos, who knew Tim Page.

 

Tim has been instrumental in helping piece together the history of this camera for us. Tim confirmed that this is the camera that Sean shot with in Vietnam, as he remembers sitting with Sean in ‘Frankie’s House’ as Sean made the strap for the camera from the parachute cord and pin: “We used to have arts & crafts sessions where we would customise our field kit and equipment”.

He also very kindly provided images taken of Sean with the camera and pictures that Sean had taken with the camera which you can see here.

 

 

 

This was a major discovery — that we actually have a record of the camera and images taken with the camera. But it was about to get even better. You see, it turns out that this story started when a photographer in the USA found Sean Flynn’s bag at an antique show in Atlanta. Tim Page was sent the bag and it is in his possession, soon to be reunited with the camera.

 

What’s Next?

So this is where the story ends, right? Will the camera be locked up in a collectors cabinet, hidden from the public eye to be forgotten? No, this camera is far too important to have that happen. This camera is going to be the centerpiece of a retrospective show of Sean Flynn’s work, and the work of other photographers that knew Sean Flynn.

The camera will be featured with the bag and prints of Sean’s, Tim’s and other’s work at shows in the Leica store in Hanoi and at a government house in Ho Chi Minh city. There is the possibility of the show touring to other countries in the future. The camera will reside in Saigon with its owner.

 

 

The camera survived Vietnam, Cambodia, PNG, Indonesia, the 6 Day War in Israel and Euro travels. Fortunately, Flynn did not have the camera with him when he was captured in the Parrot’s Beak of Eastern Cambodia, near Chi Pou on April 6th, 1970 with fellow photographer Dana Stone.

 

   

It is an honor to have been able to be a part of this incredible story. Finding cameras is always exciting, but this one is a once-in-a-career event. I will be attending the shows in Vietnam in the coming months, and I am looking forward to meeting the photographers that worked with Sean Flynn and knew him.

  

 

 

Helping to put something like this together is what makes my job so rewarding for me. Seeing the life of a camera so special is an exciting and emotional experience.

I am always on the lookout for cameras with a history and a story to tell. Drop me a line if you have one or know someone that does.

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Chad Kiser for helping me to work with the Flynn family. And to Tim Page for assistance with the images you see here. All images used with permission. No reproduction without prior consent.


About the author: Bellamy Hunt is a photographer based in Tokyo, Japan, and the man behind Japan CameraHunter. The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. Hunt sources quality cameras and photo gear from Japan for customers around the world. You can find more of his writing on his website. This article was also published here.


For other articles on this blog please click on Blog Archive in the column to the right

To comment or to read comments please scroll past the ads below.

All ads present items of interest to Leica owners.

_______________________________________________________________________

EDDYCAM - the first and only ergonomic elk-skin camera strap     
 www.eddycam.com        

      



Buy vintage Leica cameras from 
America's premier Leica specialist 
www.tamarkin.com

 http://www.tamarkin.com/leicagallery/upcoming-show


Click on image to enlarge
Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography

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Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography

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Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography


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