Mori
Mori Seisakusho (森製作所, meaning Mori Works)[1] was a Japanese camera active from the mid or late 1930s. It was based in Kamihirai (Tokyo) during World War II.[2] Various cameras are attributed to this company, but little is known for sure.
In the mid-1930s, Mori reportedly made the Semi Dymos 4.5×6cm folder.[3] From 1938, it made the Rollekonter 6×6 TLR.[4] Rebadged versions of the camera were sold by various other companies. The Semi Konter and Konter Six, about which little is known, were perhaps made by Mori Seisakusho as well.[5] An original document says that the Zessan sold by Riken was produced by "Mori Kōjō" (森工場, meaning Mori Plant);[6] it is likely that this was another name for Mori Seisakusho.
After World War II, Mori Seisakusho released the Bikor-Flex, a revised version of the Rollekonter. It was one of the first Japanese TLR cameras available on the market. It is also said that the company made three prototypes of a Morrisflex 6×6 TLR.[7]
Mori was probably absorbed into Bikōdō, distributor of the Bikor-Flex. In late 1949,[8] the company Bikōdō Seisakusho (meaning Bikōdō Works) released a Superflex 6×6cm TLR, again based on the Rollekonter, continuation of Mori's former camera line.
Contents
Camera list
Zessan | Rollekonter |
- Zessan, 3×4cm
- Semi Dymos, 4.5×6cm folder
- Hansa Semi Rollette, name variant of the Semi Dymos
- Semi Rosen, name variant of the Semi Dymos
- Semi Konter, 4.5×6cm folder
- Konter Six, 6×6cm
- Rollekonter, 6×6cm TLR
- Ricohflex (original), name variant of the Rollekonter
- Bikor-Flex, 6×6cm TLR
- Morrisflex, 6×6cm TLR
Notes
- ↑ The full name is given in Kitano, p.49 of Kohga Gekkan June 1949, and in various recent sources.
- ↑ Its address in 1943 was Tōkyō-to Katsushika-ku Kamihirai-chō 550 (東京都葛飾区上平井町550). Source: "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras").
- ↑ Tanaka, p.132 of Nigan-refu no hanashi (zenpen).
- ↑ Gyōkai san-jū-nen no ashiato (Feb. 1939), p.13 of Nihon Shashin Kōgyō Tsūshin July 20, 1967, reproduced on p.231 of Hyaku-gō goto jūkai no kiroku: ロールコンターの森製作所. This is confirmed in Tanaka, p.19 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.14 and p.132 of Nigan-refu no hanashi (zenpen).
- ↑ The Semi Konter is attributed to Mori Seisakusho in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.336.
- ↑ "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras"), items 158–9.
- ↑ See this page of the AJCC.
- ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.353.
Bibliography
- Asahi Camera (アサヒカメラ) editorial staff. Shōwa 10–40nen kōkoku ni miru kokusan kamera no rekishi (昭和10–40年広告にみる国産カメラの歴史, Japanese camera history as seen in advertisements, 1935–1965). Tokyo: Asahi Shinbunsha, 1994. ISBN 4-02-330312-7.
- Kitano Kunio (北野邦雄). "Mittsu no kokusan ōtomāto" (三つの国産オートマート, Three Japanese Automat). In Kohga Gekkan vol.8 no.6, June 1949. Pp.48–53.
- "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" (国産写真機ノ現状調査, Inquiry into Japanese cameras), listing Japanese camera production as of April 1943. Reproduced in Supuringu kamera de ikou: Zen 69 kishu no shōkai to tsukaikata (スプリングカメラでいこう: 全69機種の紹介と使い方, Let's try spring cameras: Presentation and use of 69 machines). Tokyo: Shashinkogyo Syuppan-sha, 2004. ISBN 4-87956-072-3. Pp.180–7.
- McKeown, James M. and Joan C. McKeown's Price Guide to Antique and Classic Cameras, 12th Edition, 2005-2006. USA, Centennial Photo Service, 2004. ISBN 0-931838-40-1 (hardcover). ISBN 0-931838-41-X (softcover).
- Nihon Shashin Kōgyō Tsūshin July 20, 1967. "Gyōkai san-jū-nen no ashiato" (業界三十年の足跡, Records of thirty years in the business). Pp.12–33. Reproduced in Nihon Shashin Kōgyō Tsūshin (日本写真興業通信). Hyaku-gō goto jūkai no kiroku (百号ごと十回の記録, Ten records, every hundred issues). Tokyo: Nihon Shashin Kōgyō Tsūshin Sha (日本写真興業通信社), 1967. No ISBN number. Pp.230–51.
- Sugiyama, Kōichi (杉山浩一); Naoi, Hiroaki (直井浩明); Bullock, John R. The Collector's Guide to Japanese Cameras. 国産カメラ図鑑 (Kokusan kamera zukan). Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 1985. ISBN 4-257-03187-5.
- Tanaka Masao (田中政雄). Nigan-refu no hanashi (zenpen) (二眼レフのはなし[前編], TLR stories [first part]). Gendai Kamera Shinsho (現代カメラ新書) no.68. Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 1980. No ISBN number. P.132.
- Tanaka Masao (田中政雄). "Senzen no kamera 3: Nigan-refu kamera" (戦前のカメラ3・二眼レフカメラ, Prewar cameras 3: TLR cameras). Kamera Rebyū: Kurashikku Kamera Senka (カメラレビュー クラシックカメラ専科) / Camera Review: All about Historical Cameras no.14, October 1989. No ISBN number. Rikō kamera no subete (リコーカメラのすべて, special issue on Ricoh). Pp.19–20.
Links
- Morrisflex in the AJCC website