Difference between revisions of "Bikōdō"
Rebollo fr (talk | contribs) (perhaps made the Light and Rosen shutters (which have an MB logo)) |
Rebollo fr (talk | contribs) (found another source, the prewar and postwar Bikodo are certainly the same) |
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| − | + | '''Bikōdō''' (美光堂) was a Japanese manufacturer of cameras and leaf shutters, from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. | |
| − | '''Bikōdō''' (美光堂) was a Japanese | + | |
| + | == Prewar and wartime period == | ||
| + | As early as 1937, Bikōdō was mentioned as the distributor or maker of the [[Reex]] 6×9 folder.<REF> {{Kokusan}}, p.343 (item 320). </REF> During the war, Bikōdō made some shutters called Compur, copies of the corresponding German models.<REF> {{Inquiry1943_short}}, shutter items 18-Q-4 and 18-R-9. </REF> These shutters have a round ''MB'' logo on the front plate; a similar logo also appears on the [[Light (shutter)|Light shutter]] or its Rosen name variant, perhaps indicating that these were made by Bikōdō too. The company's address in 1943 was Shitaya-ku Sakamoto 1–3–2 (下谷区坂本1–3–2) in Tokyo.<REF> {{Inquiry1943_short}}. </REF> | ||
List of Bikōdō shutters: | List of Bikōdō shutters: | ||
| Line 7: | Line 9: | ||
* Rapid Compur (T, B, 1–500), on the [[Rollekonter]] | * Rapid Compur (T, B, 1–500), on the [[Rollekonter]] | ||
| − | == Postwar | + | == Postwar period == |
| − | + | It is said that the company suffered some damage from the aerial bombings at the end of World War II.<REF> Lewis, p.59. </REF> It perhaps took some time to restructure, and nothing is known of its activities during the second half of the 1940s. | |
| + | |||
| + | In the early 1950s, the company was called '''Bikōdō Seisakusho''' (美光堂製作所). It made the [[Superflex]] TLR and announced the [[Tenar Six]] folder. Its address from 1951 to 1953 was Taitō-ku Kami-negishi 60 (台東区上根岸60) in Tokyo.<REF> Advertisements reproduced in {{Kokusan}}, pp.141–2 and 149. </REF> | ||
Camera list: | Camera list: | ||
| Line 20: | Line 24: | ||
* {{Showa10}} | * {{Showa10}} | ||
* {{Inquiry1943}} | * {{Inquiry1943}} | ||
| + | * {{Lewis}} P.59. | ||
[[Category: Japanese camera makers]] | [[Category: Japanese camera makers]] | ||
[[Category: Japanese shutter makers]] | [[Category: Japanese shutter makers]] | ||
Revision as of 20:52, 5 September 2010
Bikōdō (美光堂) was a Japanese manufacturer of cameras and leaf shutters, from the late 1930s to the early 1950s.
Prewar and wartime period
As early as 1937, Bikōdō was mentioned as the distributor or maker of the Reex 6×9 folder.[1] During the war, Bikōdō made some shutters called Compur, copies of the corresponding German models.[2] These shutters have a round MB logo on the front plate; a similar logo also appears on the Light shutter or its Rosen name variant, perhaps indicating that these were made by Bikōdō too. The company's address in 1943 was Shitaya-ku Sakamoto 1–3–2 (下谷区坂本1–3–2) in Tokyo.[3]
List of Bikōdō shutters:
- Light and Rosen (several versions, attribution unconfirmed)
- Tokyo Compur or New Compur (T, B, 1–300), on the Rollekonter, Semi Konter and Semi Miss
- Rapid Compur (T, B, 1–500), on the Rollekonter
Postwar period
It is said that the company suffered some damage from the aerial bombings at the end of World War II.[4] It perhaps took some time to restructure, and nothing is known of its activities during the second half of the 1940s.
In the early 1950s, the company was called Bikōdō Seisakusho (美光堂製作所). It made the Superflex TLR and announced the Tenar Six folder. Its address from 1951 to 1953 was Taitō-ku Kami-negishi 60 (台東区上根岸60) in Tokyo.[5]
Camera list:
Notes
- ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.343 (item 320).
- ↑ "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras"), shutter items 18-Q-4 and 18-R-9.
- ↑ "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras").
- ↑ Lewis, p.59.
- ↑ Advertisements reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, pp.141–2 and 149.
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.
- "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.
- Lewis, Gordon, ed. The History of the Japanese Camera. Rochester, N.Y.: George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography & Film, 1991. ISBN 0-935398-17-1 (paper), 0-935398-16-3 (hard). P.59.
