Arae
Arae Kōgaku (荒江光学, meaning Arae Optical) was a Japanese company based in Tokyo in the mid-1950s.[1] Its founder Arae Taikichi (荒江泰吉) previously worked for Tōkyō Kōgaku.[2] He became independent at some time and began to produce optical products such as the Altair Fresnel screen for TLR cameras, designed by his friend Kurebayashi Juichi (樽林寿一).[3] It is probable that his small business was already called Arae Kōgaku at the time. In parallel,[2] he developed a 35mm SLR camera, also called Altair, with a set of lenses designed by Kurebayashi.[4] The camera was announced by Arae Kōgaku in February 1955,[4] but never reached the market. After the project was abandoned, Arae entered Misuzu Kōgaku, which took over the production of the Altair Fresnel screen, and stayed there for two years.[2]
Notes
- ↑ Its exact address was Itabashi-ku Shimura Shimizu-chō 303 (東京都板橋区志村清水町303). Source: column in Asahi Camera February 1955, p.182.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Hagiya, reproduced in Mabuchi.
- ↑ Hagiya, reproduced in Mabuchi. Kurebayashi Juichi is mentioned as a good friend of Arae Taikichi in Asahi Camera, February 1955.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Column in Asahi Camera February 1955, p.182.
Bibliography
- Asahi Camera February 1955. "Shinseihin memo" (新製品メモ, New products memo). P.182.
- Mabuchi, Sam. "In search of the missing Altair camera". In The PHSC E-mail, vol.6–10, supplement to Photographic Canadiana, Feb. 2007, pp.4–5. Also published in Camera Shopper no.173, Mar. 2007, pp.11–2. (This article contains a partial reproduction of an article by Hagiya Takeshi [萩谷剛] in an unspecified issue of Kurashikku Kamera Senka.)
