Elbow

The name Elbow was used on the Japanese 6×6 TLR Elbowflex and 6×6 folder Elbow Six, marked ELBOW CAMERA FIRM. Japanese sites say that the company's name was Elbow Shōkai (エルボー商会); the word shōkai means "company" or "firm" but is generally used for wholesale or trade companies, so this sounds like a distributor's name. Elbow's address was 文京区駒込東方町94, in Tokyo.

The cameras were manufactured by Tōyō Seiki Kōgaku (東洋精機光学) and Kosumo (i.e. Cosmo) Kamera Seisakusho (コスモカメラ製作所): the two companies are named in advertisements appearing in magazines published in April and September 1955 respectively.

Source and further reading

• 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.